Christian rightists rally in Washington
By Barry Sheppard
Hundreds of thousands of evangelical men demonstrated in front of Congress to promote the agenda of the Christian right on October 4. The crowd was overwhelmingly white.
The rally organisers, the Promise Keepers, claimed it was non-political, just a gathering of men to atone for their sins. National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland pointed out the venue of the event alone belied that claim.
Promise Keepers is a new movement, four years old. It has staged all-male rallies in 22 cities across the nation. A poll that the Promise Keepers took of its followers found that the "sin" they most regretted was "sexual impurity". Consequently, the organisation emphasises this in its activities.
The "promises" a Promise Keeper is committed to are: honouring Jesus Christ; pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises; practising spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity; building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values; supporting his church: reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers; influencing his world, being obedient to the great ... commission (see Matthew 28: 19-20).
Sounds innocuous, right? Many who attend Promise Keepers events probably are there to try to be "better people". But as Alfred Ross and Lee Cokorinos of the Center for Democracy Studies write in their book Promise Keepers: The Third Wave of the Religious Right, "In its conception and execution, Promise Keepers is one of the most sophisticated political movements the right wing has yet conjured up."
The centre's newsletter, PK Watch, says that Promise Keepers is using seemingly benign teachings on prayer and social responsibility to create a grassroots network designed to buttress the religious right.
But scratch the surface, and the politics of Promise Keepers becomes clear. On 18 giant TV screens, the rally participants watched a recorded message from a man asking for forgiveness for "allowing" his wife to have an abortion.
The Promise Keepers point to a New Testament passage as their guidelines for women: "A husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head and Saviour of the church."
In a section of his book Seven Promises, titled "Reclaiming Your Manhood", a Texas pastor put it this way: "Sit down with your wife and say something like this: 'Honey, I've made a terrible mistake. I've given you my role. I gave up leading this family, and I forced you to take my place. Now I must reclaim that role' ... I'm not suggesting ask for your role back, I'm urging you to take it back ... there can be no compromise here. If you're going to lead, you must lead."
Promise Keepers' founder, former football coach Bill McCartney, says: "You can talk around it, but the man has a responsibility before God. He must stand before God and give an account. Did you take spiritual leadership in your home? ... You know what a woman is told [in the Bible]? Respect your husband. OK?"
"Abortion is a violation of the heart of God", McCartney says. In keeping with its Trojan Horse ploy, Promise Keepers doesn't "officially" take a stand on abortion. But in its July issue of Promise Keepers News it states: "The legal undermining of the sanctity of human life, from the pre-born to the old and infirm, represents a rejection of America's two-century-old tenet that mankind is made in God's image and is a repudiation of morality as a factor in court decisions."
The reference in Matthew alluded to in promise number seven is the following: "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you".
But who on Earth will command? And who must obey? Promise Keepers' literature is full of the Christian right's cry to "re-establish America as a Christian nation".
The Promise Keepers' commitment to "reaching beyond any racial ... barriers" is suspect.
In recent years, the white Christian right has been trying to "atone" for its "past racism" in an attempt to draw in blacks and other minorities to support its rightist agenda. Many black church leaders have denounced the ploy, which so far has had little success.
They point out that the Promise Keepers and the Christian right in general may "atone" for their past racism, but they do nothing and say nothing about improving conditions for racial minorities. Words like affirmative action, breaking down the real barriers in housing, jobs and education, don't pass their lips.
Promise Keepers is an outfit to keep our eyes on.