12: From Rushdoony to Ron Paul, with Racism

Christian Rightcast

Last episode, Kristin walked us through the high points of Christian Reconstructionism — RJ Rushdoony’s extremist vision of a feudal, patriarchal America ruled by religious law. In this episode we explore the racist building blocks of his ideology, as well as the careful definitions many Reconstructionist-inspired movements use to claim their views are actually anti-racist.

Warning: Rushdoony’s writing, and the writing of several Reconstructionst offshoot movements, are cited extensively in this episode. Explicit and extreme racism, dehumanizing language, and defenses of slavery, are quoted for clarity and may be disturbing or triggering for listeners.

Books, Papers, and Key Personalities

Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction, by Julie Ingersoll

Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism, by Michael Joseph McVicar

Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest, by Crawford Gribben

Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism, by Molly Worthen

Protestants and American Conservatism: A Short History, by Gillis J. Harp

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, by Frances FitzGerald

Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement, by Kathryn Joyce

"Southern Slavery as it Wasn'T: Coming to Grips with Neo-Confederate Historical Misinformation", by Ramsey, William L. and Quinlan, Sean M., 2004

Ludwig von Mises biography at Encyclopedia Britannica

Fredrich A. Hayek biography at Encyclopedia Britannica

John Dewey's philosophy of education at The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

The Christian Reconstruction Movement in U.S. Politics, by Julie Ingersoll, 2017, at Oxford University Press

Writings by and About Key Reconstructionists

The Messianic Character of American Edication, by RJ Rushdoony

"Can We Tithe Our Children?", by RJ Rushdoony

"Angry White Man: The Bigoted Past of Ron Paul, by James Kirchick, 2008, The New Republic

"There's Something About Gary." by Declan McCullagh, 1999, Wired Magazine

Critical Analysis

"God’s Plantation: Vision Forum and the Old South", by Nick Ducote, 2014, Homeschoolers Anonymous

"Kinism: A Racist and Anti-Semitic Religious Movement", 2013, published by The Anti-Defamation League

"Identity Unmasked: Meet the Proprietors of the Internet's Largest Neo-Confederate Propaganda Machine," 2019, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center

"The Year in Hate, 2004," 2004, by Mark Potok at the Southern Poverty Law Center

"Doug Wilson’s Religious Empire Expanding in the Northwest," 2004, by Mark Potok at the Southern Poverty Law Center

"Identity Dixie Leaders Helped Plan Deadly Rally," 2019, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center

"As a plague sweeps the land, zealots see a gift from heaven," by Leah Sottile at The High Country News