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] with a fiery cross]]'''Christian terrorism''' is a form of religiously motivated militant action that attempts to spread fear and terror, to achieve perceived theological mandates and ideological goals, through violent attacks against the civilian population. ] with a fiery cross]]'''Christian terrorism''' is a form of religiously motivated militant action that attempts to spread fear and terror, to achieve perceived theological mandates and ideological goals, through violent attacks against the civilian population.


Like many modern religions, Christianity has seen historic periods where some of the faithful and their leaders have resorted to terrorism, such as some incidents during the ] (including the destruction of the ]) and the ]. However modern examples of Christian terrorism are overwhelmingly tied to individuals and small groups, drawing condemnation from actual church bodies.<ref>On Crusades: Tyerman 2006; On small networks tied to Chistian anti-abortion terrorism: Mason 2002; On Christian terrorism and violence: Juergensmeyer 2000; On small, marginal, fragmented nature of Christian Identity: Barkun 1994, pp. viii-xi; On condemnation of Christian Identity and terrorism by National Council of Churches: Zeskind 1987; On Inquisition: Lea 1961.</ref> Like many modern religions, Christianity has seen historic periods where some of the faithful and their leaders have resorted to terrorism, such as some incidents during the ] (including the destruction of the ]). However modern examples of Christian terrorism are overwhelmingly tied to individuals and small groups, drawing condemnation from actual church bodies.<ref>On Crusades: Tyerman 2006; On small networks tied to Chistian anti-abortion terrorism: Mason 2002; On Christian terrorism and violence: Juergensmeyer 2000; On small, marginal, fragmented nature of Christian Identity: Barkun 1994, pp. viii-xi; On condemnation of Christian Identity and terrorism by National Council of Churches: Zeskind 1987; On Inquisition: Lea 1961.</ref>


Many frequently-cited contemporary examples of "Christian" terrorism are closely tied to ] ideology promoting ], such as the ]. Other groups, such as the ] movement bridge the gap between racism and religious theology by targeting racial and religious minorities, immigrants, homosexuals and women.<ref>http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whitsup.html</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = Barkun |first = Michael |year = 1996 |title = Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement |publisher = University of N. Carolina Press |id = ISBN 978-0807846384}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = Berlet |first = Chip |authorlink = Chip Berlet |year = 2004 |url = http://www.publiceye.org/rightist/idennlns.html |title = A New Face for Racism & Fascism |work = White Supremacist, Antisemitic, and Race Hate Groups in the U.S.: A Geneaology |publisher = Political Research Associates |accessdate = 2007-02-18}}</ref> Many frequently-cited contemporary examples of "Christian" terrorism are closely tied to ] ideology promoting ], such as the ]. Other groups, such as the ] movement bridge the gap between racism and religious theology by targeting racial and religious minorities, immigrants, homosexuals and women.<ref>http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whitsup.html</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = Barkun |first = Michael |year = 1996 |title = Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement |publisher = University of N. Carolina Press |id = ISBN 978-0807846384}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = Berlet |first = Chip |authorlink = Chip Berlet |year = 2004 |url = http://www.publiceye.org/rightist/idennlns.html |title = A New Face for Racism & Fascism |work = White Supremacist, Antisemitic, and Race Hate Groups in the U.S.: A Geneaology |publisher = Political Research Associates |accessdate = 2007-02-18}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:14, 30 June 2007

The Ku Klux Klan with a fiery cross

Christian terrorism is a form of religiously motivated militant action that attempts to spread fear and terror, to achieve perceived theological mandates and ideological goals, through violent attacks against the civilian population.

Like many modern religions, Christianity has seen historic periods where some of the faithful and their leaders have resorted to terrorism, such as some incidents during the Crusades (including the destruction of the Cathars). However modern examples of Christian terrorism are overwhelmingly tied to individuals and small groups, drawing condemnation from actual church bodies.

Many frequently-cited contemporary examples of "Christian" terrorism are closely tied to racist ideology promoting white supremacy, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Other groups, such as the Christian Identity movement bridge the gap between racism and religious theology by targeting racial and religious minorities, immigrants, homosexuals and women.

Christian terrorism centered on anti-abortion

Part of a series on
Terrorism and political violence
By ideology
Religious
Special-interest / Single-issue
Related topics
Organizational structures
  • Methods
  • Tactics
Terrorist groups
Relationship to states
State terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Response to terrorism

One of the most widely-reported Christian terrorists is Eric Robert Rudolph, an American who committed a series of bombings across the southern United States in the 1990s, killing three people and injuring at least 150 others, because he violently opposed abortion and homosexuality as contrary to Christian doctrine. While he may have been associated with the Christian Identity movement, Rudolph himself has rejected the claims, saying that he was born a Catholic, but that he "prefers Nietzsche to the Bible".

Clayton Waagner claimed to be on a "mission from God" when he set out with his family on a trip across the United States, intent on killing multiple abortion providers. Ultimately he mailed envelopes, falsely claiming they contained anthrax, to more than 500 abortion facilities, as part of the larger, and unconnected, anthrax attacks of 2001.

On 11 September, 2006 David McMenemy, who has pleaded guilty to second degree arson, allegedly attempted a suicide bombing, deliberately crashing his car into the Edgerton Women’s Health Center in Davenport, Iowa. According to a court affidavit, McMenemy swore under oath that he mistakenly thought the clinic performed abortions.

According to the National Abortion Federation, between 1977 and 2006, anti-abortion terrorism was responsible for 7 murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 173 arson attacks, 100 butyric acid attacks, 157 incidents of assault and battery, 4 kidnappings, and 385 death threats.

Army of God

Several Christian extremists who have targeted abortion providers have had close ties to the militant organization Army of God, including the excommunicated Presbyterian minister Paul Jennings Hill, Michael F. Griffin, and the Reverend Michael Bray. Eric Rudolph, Clayton Waagner and James Kopp all had links to the Army of God, though it is not clear whether Waagner or Kopp had formal links.

Christian terrorism centered on nationalism

  • The National Liberation Front of Tripura is a Fundamentalist Christian militant group in India, demanding a separate Christian state. Allegedly funded by the Baptist Church of Tripura, it is accused of ethnic cleansing and bombings that have killed hundreds, as well as forcing gunpoint conversions. They were declared a terrorist organization under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2002.
  • Lord's Resistance Army (formerly known as the Uganda Peoples' Democratic Christian Army, it mixed several belief systems. It has recently downplayed its Christian roots, but still springs from a predominantly Christian support base)
  • Freedomites (also Svobodniki or Sons of Freedom, Canada, 1902-present)
  • The Christian Patriot movement is a loose association of people in the United States sharing common interests in racial and religious ideologies as well as asserting a modern paramilitary culture. The group opposes, among other things, government funded social assistance including many health, education, and welfare programs, but focuses mainly on anti-feminist and anti-immigration issues, portraying the growing economic advancements of women and ethnic minorities as hostile acts against United States citizens and white men in particular.

See also

Notes

  1. On Crusades: Tyerman 2006; On small networks tied to Chistian anti-abortion terrorism: Mason 2002; On Christian terrorism and violence: Juergensmeyer 2000; On small, marginal, fragmented nature of Christian Identity: Barkun 1994, pp. viii-xi; On condemnation of Christian Identity and terrorism by National Council of Churches: Zeskind 1987; On Inquisition: Lea 1961.
  2. http://www.publiceye.org/eyes/whitsup.html
  3. Barkun, Michael (1996). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. University of N. Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807846384.
  4. Berlet, Chip (2004). "A New Face for Racism & Fascism". White Supremacist, Antisemitic, and Race Hate Groups in the U.S.: A Geneaology. Political Research Associates. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  5. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A1196-2003Jun1?language=printer
  6. Morrison, Blake (2005). "Special report: Eric Rudolph writes home". Nation. USA Today. Retrieved 2006-06-14.
  7. Wyatt, Kristen (2005). "Eric Rudolph, proud killer". The Decatur Daily. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  8. http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6562645
  9. http://www.qcwomenshealth.org/wic.html
  10. Deirdre Cox Baker, "Sentencing set for women's clinic arsonist", Quad City Times, May 24, 2007 .
  11. Jennifer L. Posner, "The terrorists who aren't in the news", Newsday, 8 October 2006.Copy available here.
  12. Statistics from theNational Abortion Federation.
  13. Army of God page at the National Abortion Federation].
  14. http://www.stephen-knapp.com/christian_terrorists_kill_44.htm
  15. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm
  16. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842462-1,00.html
  17. http://caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/sp.2002.49.4.497?cookieSet=1&journalCode=sp
  18. Terrorism Trends and Prospects

References

  • Barkun, Michael. 1994. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement, revised. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press.
  • Hedges, Chris. 2007. American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. Free Press.
  • Juergensmeyer, Mark. 2000. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Berkeley: University of California.

Lea, Henry Charles. 1961. The Inquisition of the Middle Ages. Abridged. New York: Macmillan.

  • Mason, Carol. 2002. Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
  • Tyerman, Christopher. 2006. God's War: A New History of the Crusades. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, Belknap.
  • Zeskind, Leonard. 1987. The ‘Christian Identity’ Movement, . Atlanta, Georgia: Center for Democratic Renewal/Division of Church and Society, National Council of Churches.
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