Journalists Warn of Speaker Mike Johnson’s Plan to “Pervert the Constitution” and “Make America Into a White Christian Theocracy”

Jo ShawNov 17, 2023

Minute Read

Several articles have recently been published warning of the dangers that far-right evangelicals, such as newly elected House Speaker Johnson, pose to the American Constitution and democracy. While dredging up some of Johnson’s extreme past behaviors and statements, many argue that it is all part of a larger plan to turn the nation into a “White Christian Theocracy.”

Nullify the Constitution

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In a recent article written by Chauncey Devega for The Salon, she notes that Johnson, the newly elected House speaker, “wants to nullify the Constitution in order to make America into a White Christian theocracy.”

A Plot Against America

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Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has also recently written an article for The Guardian, titled “Mike Johnson, theocrat: the House speaker and a plot against America,” where she shares the views of The Salon’s Chauncey Devega and the author Katherine Stewart.

It’s a Biblical Republic

In Hamilton’s article, she pointedly quoted Johnson’s past statement: “He was most candid about this in 2016, when he declared: “You know, we don’t live in a democracy” but a “biblical” republic.”

Enhance the Plutocratic Wealth

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Katherine Stewart, as part of Chauncey Devega’s piece in The Salon, said that Johnson’s “desire to defund the Internal Revenue Service” and his “efforts to slash government services to the impoverished” are reflective of the far-rights “understanding of ‘biblical’ economics.” In the article published by the Salon, Stewart noted that the extreme right “works to enhance the plutocratic wealth of its super-rich funders.”

Remove Civil Rights and Give More to the Richest

Devega, in her article, also states that as part of the plan, the House Speaker aims to “take away women’s civil and human rights, end the right to privacy, and criminalize gay and lesbian people.” She also highlights that Johnson’s “Christian values” also “include giving even more money to the very richest Americans and corporations and destroying the country’s already threadbare social safety net.”

Ending America’s Multiracial Pluralistic Democracy

The Salon’s Chauncey Devega interviewed Katherine Stewart, the author of “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” and she shared her views with The Salon’s Devega, discussing the far-right’s “plans to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy.”

The Big Lie

In her remarks, Katherine Stewart stated that the far-rights “big lie” is that “the United States was founded as a government of, by, and for reactionary Christians.”

Johnson’s Ties With the ADF

Both articles touched on Johnson’s past ties with the ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom), a conservative Christian legal advocacy group. In the article Hamilton wrote for the Guardian, she noted that House Speaker Johnson was formerly a senior lawyer for “the extremist” ADF between 2002 and 2010.

Breaking the Wall Separating Church and State

The Salon article further highlighted the large budget the right-wing advocacy group runs on, “a budget of $102 million dollars per year,” stated author Katherine Stewart, as she further stated the group “sits at the center of a network of donors and politicians committed to obliterating any wall separating church and state.”

ADF Played Significant Role in Overturning Roe V Wade

The Guardian reported in their article that the ADF was also responsible for obtaining a ruling “from the Supreme Court permitting a wedding website designer to refuse to do business with gay couples.” Hamilton further pointed out in her article that the ADF “played a significant role in annulling Roe v Wade.”

ADF Planning to Ban Birth Control

The Guardian article further claimed that the ADF was planning to end legal protections for the supply of birth control.

Republicans in Favor of Extremists

In her article for the Salon, Chauncey Devega asked the author Katherine Stewart about Johnson’s rise in politics. Stewart stated that Johnson received his power due to the “internal dynamics of the Republican Party,” which she said had moved “in favor of the extremists,” further adding, “the candidate furthest to the right has the best chance of winning.”

The Religious Right in Its Holy War

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Hamilton, for the Guardian, stated that Johnson’s recent win as House Speaker was “the greatest victory so far within Congress for the religious right in its holy war to turn the US government into a theocracy.”

A “Young Earth Creationist”

Hamilton also claims that Johnson’s beliefs had led him to “reject science,” stating he was a “young earth creationist.” She explained that his belief in a “literal reading of Genesis” meant that he believed that “the earth is only a few thousand years old and humans walked alongside dinosaurs.”

The Bible Provides the Master Plan

In her article, Hamilton claimed there is a more significant threat in Speaker Johnson’s religious beliefs, stating “his belief that subjective interpretation of the Bible provides the master plan for governance.”

Imposing a Theocracy

She further warned in her article, “When rulers insist the law should be driven by a particular religious viewpoint, they are systematizing their beliefs and imposing a theocracy.”

Peaceful Coexistence Through Separation of Church and State

Professor Hamilton also pointed out that “In the US, the peaceful coexistence of thousands of faiths was made possible in great part by the separation of church and state, which was demanded by Baptists in Massachusetts, Virginia and other places where they were being ostracized, taxed, flogged, imprisoned and even killed for their beliefs.”

Pervert American History and the Constitution

She wrote in her article, “How cruel an irony that some of the spiritual descendants of those persecuted Baptists should, like Mike Johnson, pervert American history and the Constitution to impose a theocracy that would mean the end of democracy.”