If Christian Dominionism is alive and well anywhere in America, it would probably be the "Heartland" -- rural, middle America where so many people live in small communities dominated by churches, traditions, and more than a bit of xenophobia. So if you want to learn more about what Christian Dominionism might really be like in America, you have to go to the Heartland.
James writes:
America's "Heartland" is the scariest place I know of. I can say this because I'm from there. It took many years of living in L.A. to forget about the ways of mid-America, and when I returned, it was worse than ever. There is a particularly virulent social disease infecting every facet of American life in the "Heartland".
Returning to "God's Country" as an older, wiser, more experienced and university educated man allowed me to see this part of the country for what it really is. Christian Dominionism is the de facto law here, from the schools to the police departments, from the public libraries to the malls. A person cannot take a walk, go out to a restaurant, take a class or buy a book without experiencing some form of proselytizing. I routinely encounter militant street preachers who have taken it upon themselves to "save" the entire world. I see these fools on street corners yelling at the top of their lungs that we're all going to Hell.
The local colleges are crawling with young "undercover" pseudo-hipsters that prey on new students and try to "save" them and get them to join the Baptist Student Union. Halloween costumes are banned from the campus because they are "Satanic". When someone is asked, "How are you today?" the answer is ALWAYS: "I'm BLESSED!". People here cannot find a normal T-shirt, apparently, because all of the T-shirts I see have bible verses on them. Every musical group is a "Christian Rock" band. There were even "Christian Punk" bands for awhile.
Of course, everyone my age or older (50's) is some sort of "deacon" in their church. Their kids are all "youth ministers". Every doctor's and dentist's office has bibles lying around everywhere. The magazines are Christian magazines---even the ones for sale in the grocery store. The Department of Human Services is a veritable church in it's own right, with bible verses all over the walls, bibles on every desk, and angel statues everywhere you look.
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I wonder how many of the "journalists" who dismiss the existence of influence of Dominionism have bothered to leave their offices in the cities in order to travel to small towns like the one James describes above. I wonder how many would even dare to go to such places while sending the message that they are a non-Christian -- would they really want to risk experiencing what so many other non-Christians in America must endure?
Have you had similar experiences in rural, small town America or have things been better for you?
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