Mike McLoughlin's Blog

Theocracy Hysteria Must Not Stop Us Taking Faith to Work

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 08:09:56 -0700

Secularists who oppose faith in the public arena such as workplaces often complain that allowing Christians to bring faith to work blurs the lines between church and state. Faith is a private matter, they say. So it ought to be kept for private affairs and not allowed to influence decisions in the public square. To permit it is to travel down the road to a theocracy.

A theocracy according to Webster's dictionary is “Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity.” Wikipedia has an article on the history of the word here.

TheocracyWatch, a project of Cornell University, documents the influence of religion in American politics. Many on the Left believe religion plays far too great a role in American public life. (See Street Prophets: When is a theocrat, not a theocrat? (w/poll!)) A number of these people have been recently published books on the subject.

Ross Douthat, a writer for The American Scene and Associate Editor for the Atlantic Monthly, writes a review of three of these books in the most recent issue of the magazine First Things.

“Most of these books aspire to be anthropologies, guides for the perplexed that lead the innocent reader through what the subtitle of American Theocracy calls “the perils and politics of radical religion.” There isn’t perfect agreement on what to call the religious radicals in question: Everyone employs theocrat, but Kingdom Coming also proposes Christian nationalist, while The Baptizing of America favors the clunky Christocrat. Others have suggested Christianist, the better to link religious conservatives to Osama bin Laden—and of course there’s the ubiquitous theocon, suggesting a deadly mixture of Oliver Cromwell and Paul Wolfowitz.

But the various authors are in agreement about the main point, which is that something has gone terribly wrong with the separation of church and state in this country, and that America is poised to fall into the hands of people only one step from the ayatollahs. Today’s battles aren’t just a matter of ordinary political factionalism, they insist. The hour is much later than that, and nothing less than the republic itself hangs in the balance.”

Douthat unpacks the complaints of the anti-theocrats well and shows their fears to be groundless. His review makes good fodder for those who would defend faith in the workplace from secular exclusionists.

Some others that have written on this topic:

Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost: Theocrats and Theophobes: Kevin Phillips and Carter’s Law of Political Rhetoric Also, the evangelical outpost: On Earth As It Is In Heaven: Americans and the “Theocracy” Canard

John at Brain Cramps for God: Toward a Definition of Theocracy

crimsonline: A moratorium on "theocracy" talk

GetReligion: Putting “theocracy” fears in their place

What's the Rumpus?: Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean the anti-theocrats aren't out to get me

Christian Alliance for Progress Blog: The Hysteria over Theocracy

Is The Islamization of Corporate America next?

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:11:33 -0700

Michelle Malkin writes today (GOD - NO; ALLAH - YES) on the success that Muslims are having in penetrating public schools in America with their religion under the cultural banner of tolerance and acceptance. It will not be long, I think, until Corproate America requires Islamic Sensitivity Training for Christians at work.

Consider this quote from Sandro Magister’s report on the Islamization of the West - The ...

Workplace Bullying – A Christian response

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 16:50:03 -0700

I received this e mail recently. I am posting my reply. This is a Christian response to workplace bullying. Some details have been changed to protect the people involved.

“My name is Bridget. I was wondering if you had any advice for me about a situation on my new job. I work in hospitality as a room service manager. I think the maintenance supervisor is a devil worshiper. He talks about the devil all the time.

Religion in the Canadian Workplace Featured in the National Post

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 09:16:57 -0800

The National Post ran a story in its weekend edition on religion in the workplace. The prayer room: do good by Angela Brunschot. The subtitle was “Feeling the pressure from a culturally diverse workforce, companies are making room for religion at work.”

This is a rarity in Canada. The Canadian media does not pay much attention to faith at work. However, that may be changing. I am quoted ...

Workplace Diversity and Faith At Work

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 20:21:20 -0700

I ran across this interesting article in the The Boston Globe (Firm offers transgender protections by Diane E. Lewis) on Friday. The reason Raytheon is introducing a policy on Transgender workers is so that the company can support people and allow them "to be who they are"

Now compare this with a quote from a 2004 NBC’s Today Show Interview ( Faith in the Workplace by Campbell ...

Christian Rights in the Workplace

Mike McLoughlin — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:47:51 -0700

I recently came across this on the website of the

ACLJ | American Center for Law & Justice.

They have a webpage FAQ for Christian Rights in the Workplace

Here are some of the questions that they answer.

□Q Can I share the Gospel with co-workers at work?

□Q Can I keep my Bible or other religious items at my desk?

□Q Is my employer ...

"Religiously Incorrect" - Public Faith in a Pluralistic World - Conference at the Yale Centre for Faith & Culture

Mike McLoughlin — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 17:44:14 -0700

Issues of religious faith in public life have a new prominence in the post-9/11 era. Today many people of faith are seeking a public role for religion. Yet how do we avoid the twin dangers of a coercive assertion of faith or the rejection of religious reasoning in public debate? The Center, in partnership with the Yale Law School, will explore this timely question in our second annual Sarah Smith ...

There is no Religious Bias at the Air Force Academy.

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 11:40:27 -0700

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) asserted " systematic and pervasive religious bias and intolerance at the highest levels " of the Air Force Academy.

There is no evidence for this assertion. Otherwise, the AU would launch a lawsuit. In their statement responding to the release of the report investigating this case, all the AU have the courage to do is "to remain involved ...

Is MSM bias against faith at work Anti-Christian bigotry?

Mike McLoughlin — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 09:47:06 -0700

Check out The New New Anti-Semitism: Confronting Anti-Christian Bigotry at Evangelical Outpost

Evangelical Outpost says "The time has come, though, to say enough is enough. Several decades ago anti-Catholicism became the new anti-Semitism among "intellectuals." But now the hatred and disdain has broadened to include all conservative, orthodox Christians. This is the “new” new-anti-Semitism."

My last post on the MSM framing of faith at work as Religious Coercion is an ...

Framing Faith At Work. More Mainstream Media Bias

Mike McLoughlin — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:36:59 -0700

Time's article, "Whose God is their Co pilot? The US Air Force Academy faces charges that it has allowed rampant evangelization on campus" is the latest example of MSM bias against Christian faith at work. (See my post on Faith at Work gaining momentum for more examples) This story has been making the rounds of the Mainstream Liberal media (See also the NY Times Editorial: Zealots ...