Not that long ago, I saw a right-leaning acquaintance say on social media that “Joy should come from God, not from politics.” With the childhood alarm bells ringing in my ears, I immediately saw how much there was to unpack in that statement, so here I am writing about what happens when conservative Christians demonize the politics of joy.

My Background and Standpoint

As always, I’m coming at this as a former pastor’s kid who grew up to become a communication scholar focused on stress, trauma, and conflict communication.

How the Theologies of My Upbringing Were Vulnerable to Fascistic Rhetoric

 In 2016 I began to see firsthand how the seemingly quieter versions of right-leaning theologies I had grown up with were extremely vulnerable to appeals by fascistic rhetoric. I’ve written about this many times, including here.

The statement above is a great example of something that rings back to my childhood that fits this description perfectly.

See, it SOUNDS very pious and all very well to say that GOD should be the source of joy, not people. Doesn’t it?

Not as Pious as It Sounds

I mean, to people from my childhood this would simply be an incontrovertible statement. We shouldn’t look to POLITICS for our joy—or really anything other than God, the source of all joy. NOT REALLY.

And yet.

And yet.

Wait a minute now.

But What about Those OTHER Verses?

What about all of those Bible verses about how joy is a fruit of the spirit, to be found in people because God indwells in them?

Oh, oops! Forgot about that.

What about all of those verses about how we are to act as though those we wouldn’t normally associate with are the faces of Christ?

Ohhhhhh. OOOOOPS.

And what about all of those verses that say that it’s those like Samaritans—suspicious outsiders of the times—who are the actually virtuous people.

Ouch.

So Many Problematic Dimensions to Christian Nationalistic Theology

Yeahhhhhh so there are obviously a lot of problematic dimensions to this—to saying that there’s some sort of false dichotomy between saying that joy can somehow only come from God, disconnected from human beings, just if one is to take the Bible’s message seriously.

The Politics of Joy Aren’t Unchristian at All

The reason right-leaning Christians who have fallen for the fascistic lies of Christian nationalism get nervous about the politics of joy, of course, has nothing to do with the politics of joy being actually unchristian in any way.

It’s the Fascism, of Course

Nope, it’s because fascism has crept in to the way they judge both things and people.

And to fascism, Democrats are the other. And therefore must be devil-termed to the extreme, and painted as the immoral opposition at all costs.

Churchy Exceptionalism—Christian Nationalism Variety

The more I thought about this, the more I realized this kind of false dichotomy sets up a kind of Christian nationalist-variety exceptionalism. I’ve previously talked about churchy exceptionalism here and here, and defined it as a way that those who went to church were seen to be better than those that didn’t.

In the Christian nationalist version of this phenomenon, a wall is set up between those who subscribe to right-leaning Christian nationalistic principles and those who don’t. And it’s pretty clear to those who are on the “inside” that only they could possibly have any sort of morality or righteousness.

Certainly not the demonized folks out there “outside the pale.”

A Very Fascistic Way of Looking at the World

Again, out there be dragons is a classic way for fascism to look at the world, and this idea perfectly describes how Christian nationalism can hijack language that SOUNDS PIOUS to try to reinforce this message.

Christian Nationalism=the Type of Religious Attitudes Jesus Critiqued?

Here’s the irony in all of this—the more I have written about this, the more I have realized this phenomenon seems to have been exactly the kinds of unhealthy religious attitudes Jesus and his followers were targeting in the passages I wrote about above.

#Irony. #RepublicanJesus.

SO RIFE FOR ABUSE, THIS THEOLOGY

What’s perhaps most interesting to me about this phenomenon—in a truly disturbing way—is how rife for abuse this type of theology is for the vulnerable.

Looking for support in this world? This statement says. Congratulations—you’re not supposed to look to other humans AT ALL, certainly those not like you, for any sort of support or help.

Nope, you only get to look to God for that.

Not a Great Message for Those Who Need Human Help at All

Just imagine being a person in a vulnerable population getting that kind of message on a regular basis. IGNORE THE SOURCES OF HOPE AND SUPPORT IN THE WORLD, this message says. ONLY LOOK TO A DEITY FOR THAT.

Now, considering we all need support from other humans, and that the vulnerable have particular need of that, this is a purely diabolical message for vulnerable populations.

Shudder.

A Horrific Message for the Abused

Imagine being raised as a child in a situation of abuse, for instance, and being told that both joy and support only come from God, not from others….

Deep sigh.

Wrapping It Up

Surely by now you can see how profoundly problematic this is, so I’ll leave it there for now. Let’s continue to do what we can to break down these disturbing false dichotomies wherever we find them.

And to continue to take joy in and spread the politics of joy however we can.

A Final Charge

Go team #AssertiveSpirituality! Let’s continue to do what we can where we are with what we’ve got to continue to speak out against the toxic crap toward a healthier world for us all. We can do this thing.

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