In 2016, the World Congress of Families, a group that formed in Russia in 1997, held an event in Tbilisi, capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Participants cast President Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the Orthodox Church as defenders of “Christian civilization” against a secular, decadent West.
In the run-up to the 2016 election, the passion for Russian values among America’s religious extremists grew still more ardent. In 2013, Bryan Fischer, then a spokesman for the American Family Association,
called Mr. Putin a “lion of Christianity.” In 2014, Franklin Graham — the politically influential evangelist and vocal Trump supporter —
defended Mr. Putin for his efforts “to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda,” even as he lamented that Americans have “abdicated our moral leadership.” In December 2015, Mr. Graham met privately with Mr. Putin for 45 minutes.
Although the religious right’s affection for Mr. Putin appears to center on a shared disgust with “the homosexual agenda” and other so-called family issues, it is impossible to overlook the attraction that the Russian leader’s authoritarian style has for his American admirers. During the 2016 presidential campaign,
Mike Pence hailed Mr. Putin as “a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country.”
[...]
Anti-L.G.B.T. politics are in this respect no different from the “gun rights” advocacy that Ms. Butina is accused of using to build a bridge between Russian and American leaders via the National Rifle Association. No serious observer believes that Mr. Putin cares a fig about our Second Amendment (or the rest of the Constitution). For him, America’s fabled gun culture is just a weakness to be exploited for the sake of Russia’s national interest.
Which really ought to give pause to those who imagine that Russia is sincere in its supposed desire to unite with America’s religious conservatives over a putatively shared variety of Christian values. Why would anyone assume that Mr. Putin means what he says about spiritual matters?
Katherine Stewart / New York Times:
What Was Maria Butina Doing at the National Prayer Breakfast? — America's Christian nationalists have been finding common cause with the Russian government for a while now. — Ms. Stewart writes regularly about the political activities of evangelicals and other religious groups.Discussion:Carrie Johnson / NPR: Judge Orders Maria Butina, Linked To Russian Spy Agency, Jailed Ahead Of TrialSpencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast: Alleged Russian Spy Maria Butina Romanced GOP Powerbroker, Feds SayTara Isabella Burton / Vox: How the National Prayer Breakfast plays into the indictment of an alleged Russian spyScott Johnson / Power Line: Butina butts in — On Monday the Department of Justice …Jack Jenkins / Religion News Service: Why Mariia Butina wasn't the only Russian attending the National Prayer Breakfast
No comments:
Post a Comment