In 2018, United States (US) President Donald Trump's re-election campaign asked supporters if they are "concerned by the potential spread of Sharia law" in an online survey.
The implementation of Sharia law in the West is unlikely, to say the least. Such fears are less rooted in the spread of Sharia law than they are in the spread of Islam and Muslims. Many Muslims come from theocratic countries–such as Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan–where Islamic law is commonplace. Moreover, many Islamic countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while not official theocracies, possess a high degree of religiosity in their governmental structures–such as UAE, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Oman.
The following countries require their heads of state to be Muslim citizens: Afghanistan, Algeria, Brunei, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.
Human rights, gender equality, political dissent, religious freedoms, treatment of minorities, and scientific research are all at risk under such governments. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, women only gained the right to drive in June 2019. In Iran, there was a 1000% increase in arrests of Christian Iranians in 2018, and many were detained just for celebrating Christmas in their homes.
Therefore, criticism of theocracies and religiously-guided governance is both compelling and valid. However, can it honestly be said that US governance is free of theocratic principles and elements?
The US prides itself on its enshrinement of the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1791, prevents the implementation of religiously motivated legislation and protects freedom of religion.
There are no religious requirements placed on any political positions in the US. However, the country has never had a non-Christian president. This is symptomatic of a self-perpetuating institutional religious bias and indicates a religiously intolerant voter base. For instance, a 2017 Pew Research Center study reveals that more than half of all American adults consider it “important” for their president to share their religious beliefs. Consequently, even those presidents who are less religiously inclined, such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, still pledge their allegiance to Christianity so as to maintain favor with the general population.
This forced religious allegiance contributes to the infiltration of a host of religious principles and values into offices of power. For instance, there has only been one unmarried president–James Buchanan. In addition, there have only been five US presidents who never fathered children–George Washington, James Polk, Warren Harding, Andrew Jackson, and of course, James Buchanan. Only one of them–Harding–was even alive in the twentieth century. This indicates a clear shift towards the governmental prioritization of traditional values–which are associated with religion, such as marriage and childbearing–and their profound influence on positions of power.
The intrusion of the church into the state is highly evident in swearing-in ceremonies. When US politicians are sworn into their positions–be it in Congress or the White House–they must affirm their dedication to their post by placing a hand on a book of their choosing. As most American politicians are Christian, most choose the Bible.
Breaking with tradition, in 2006, Keith Ellison became the first Muslim Congressman, and chose to honor his faith by using the Quran for his swearing-in ceremony. Conservative commentator Dennis Prager criticized his decision, saying “America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on”. He argued that choosing any book other than the Bible undermined "American civilization". His sentiments were echoed by Republican House Representative Virgil Goode, who said that the Quran is a threat to American "values and beliefs" and that such incidents set a precedent for more Muslims being elected into office and using the Quran to swear themselves in.
In 2019, Rashida Tlaib became one of two first Muslim Congresswoman alongside Ilhan Omar. Tlaib was met with similar reactions to Ellison when she chose the Quran for her swearing-in ceremony. Ted Crockett, a spokesman for US politician Roy Moore, falsely claimed that elected officials "have to swear on a Bible". Moore himself has previously said that Muslims should not serve in Congress.
One of the criticisms leveled at Islamic countries, which is used to buttress arguments on the incompatibility of Islam and Muslims with American culture, is their treatment of women. Alongside highly patriarchal and discriminatory laws and cultures, women have extremely little political capital and agency in such countries. For example, only 6% of Iran's parliament is comprised of women, compared to 29% in the US’ House of Representatives, and 26% in its Senate. That being said, the US still ranks 75th out of 193 countries on women's representation in government. In fact, the US hasn’t had a single female president, or even vice-president. Yet, even the Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Senegal, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, and Mali have all had female heads of state.
This willful ignorance and selective bias is what leads to religiously-motivated policies such as Trump’s Muslim ban in 2017, when he restricted the movement of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen to the USA.
A country that claims to separate church and state can neither support, nor discriminate against, one community over another on the basis of religion. In addition, it cannot allow religious beliefs to influence its policymaking. Yet, the US falls short on all these parameters.
For instance, the number of religiously-affiliated lobbying groups has increased from 40 in 1970 to more than 200 today. The second and third biggest American lobbyists are the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Family Research Council, who have respectively spent $27 million and $14 million on lobbying since 2009. These two Christian organizations advocate against same-sex marriage, promote laws restricting abortion rights, and seek to incorporate religion into school curriculums. Politicians rely on their votes and their wallets, and often implement policies to appease their evangelical base. For instance, Republican-led states, which are typically more religious, passed 59 abortion restrictions in 2019, 23 in 2018, and 63 in 2017. These restrictions ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest, as in the case of Alabama, or severely reduce the amount of weeks after which abortion is permissible, like in Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The influence of Christian beliefs on American governance is seen both in domestic policy and foreign policy. For example, in 1955, Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem became President of South Vietnam with significant US support. Many historians consider him to have been an American puppet. Diem's policies favored Catholics in public service and military promotions, land allocations, business ventures, and tax concessions. Much of his army converted to Catholicism, believing that it would improve their career prospects. Under his watch, Catholic priests ran private armies, forcefully converted Buddhists, and destroyed Buddhist properties and places of worship. At the time, between 70-90% of Vietnamese citizens were Buddhists.
On one level, minorities, women, and protestors can be argued to be at least marginally better off in the US than they are in Islamic countries. However, this cannot be attributed to the absence of religion in American governance. In fact, there is compelling and abundant evidence to suggest the presence of an American theocracy that violates the First Amendment of the US constitution and fails to separate church and state. The indiscriminate Christian monopolization of American political power leaves religious minorities, immigrants, women, and politically vulnerable countries in its wake.
American Theocracy: The Myth of Separation of Church and State
January 10, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGESUS President Donald Trump at his inauguration ceremony in January 2017.