On another thread we were discussing the fact that the US Democracy has some theocratic elements in it. At the moment these are pretty limited, things like legislation making Christian concepts of marriage the law, and regulation requiring school systems to teach Christian creation theology in some places. There are a variety of such laws and regulations in the USA, but for the most part, they are the exception rather than the rule at this point. For the most part the separation of church and state holds.
However there's a sizeable number of Americans, called dominionists, who would like to see that change, and who object to the notion of a separation of church and state. These are the people who have fundamentally introduced the theocratic elements into American democracy, and ultimately would like to see the USA transform into a theocracy, albeit one organized around democratic principles.
In their conception the United States is a "Christian nation" organized around Christian principles. They believe that Christian identity is central to American identity, and that the American state should be an expression of the Christian religion. Theologically speaking, they believe that God gave mankind responsibility to govern over the earth, and that this governing should be done in accordance to biblical law.
There's a range of beliefs among dominionists, they range from hard dominionists who believe that US institutions should be explicitly organized around biblical law, to the much more numerous soft dominionists who belief in a more vague notion that the United States is a "Christian nation", and should be organized around Christian principles, but perhaps in a more implicit than explicit sense.
In terms of numbers:
-- More than half of Americans believe that the US constitution establishes the United states as a "Christian nation"
-- About a third of Americans do not believe there should be a separation of Church and State
-- Three quarters of Americans believe the "10 Commandments" should be posted in public schools and public offices
Still, at this point two thirds of Americans still believe in some sort of separation of church and state, so the hard dominionists are very much in the minority, although they are a fairly sizeable minority.
Were the percentage of Americans who are dominionists rise to the level required to implement constitutional reform they would be able to amend the constitution to remove the separation of church and state and then either implicitly or explicitly form US institutions around strictly Christian principles. In the meantime they continue to use their fairly significant political power to enact theocratic laws in the context of the current American democracy, pushing the separation-of-church-and-state envelope as far as they can.
Some sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/30114573
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/weekinreview/24schwartz.html
http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/poll_religion.pdf
However there's a sizeable number of Americans, called dominionists, who would like to see that change, and who object to the notion of a separation of church and state. These are the people who have fundamentally introduced the theocratic elements into American democracy, and ultimately would like to see the USA transform into a theocracy, albeit one organized around democratic principles.
In their conception the United States is a "Christian nation" organized around Christian principles. They believe that Christian identity is central to American identity, and that the American state should be an expression of the Christian religion. Theologically speaking, they believe that God gave mankind responsibility to govern over the earth, and that this governing should be done in accordance to biblical law.
There's a range of beliefs among dominionists, they range from hard dominionists who believe that US institutions should be explicitly organized around biblical law, to the much more numerous soft dominionists who belief in a more vague notion that the United States is a "Christian nation", and should be organized around Christian principles, but perhaps in a more implicit than explicit sense.
In terms of numbers:
-- More than half of Americans believe that the US constitution establishes the United states as a "Christian nation"
-- About a third of Americans do not believe there should be a separation of Church and State
-- Three quarters of Americans believe the "10 Commandments" should be posted in public schools and public offices
Still, at this point two thirds of Americans still believe in some sort of separation of church and state, so the hard dominionists are very much in the minority, although they are a fairly sizeable minority.
Were the percentage of Americans who are dominionists rise to the level required to implement constitutional reform they would be able to amend the constitution to remove the separation of church and state and then either implicitly or explicitly form US institutions around strictly Christian principles. In the meantime they continue to use their fairly significant political power to enact theocratic laws in the context of the current American democracy, pushing the separation-of-church-and-state envelope as far as they can.
Some sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/30114573
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/weekinreview/24schwartz.html
http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/poll_religion.pdf
