Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement - Hardcover

Michael Barkun (author)

3.79

75 ratings by Goodreads

9780807821459: Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807821454 ISBN 13: 9780807821459

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994

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According to Michael Barkun, many white supremacist groups of the radical right, such as the Aryan Nations, the Order, the Posse Comitatus, and elements of the Ku Klux Klan, are deeply committed to the distinctive but little-recognized religious position known as Christian Identity. In Religion and the Racist Right, Barkun provides the first sustained exploration of the ideological and organizational development of the Christian Identity movement.
Describing its origins in a small but vigorous movement in Victorian England called British-Israelism, Barkun traces the fascinating history of Christian Identity as it traveled from England to America and developed into a virulently anti-Semitic theology based on a vision of the world on the verge of an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil. According to the tenets of Christian Identity, this struggle will take the form of a race war in which Aryans, the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, will battle against Jews, the descendants of the Devil.
Barkun argues that since the 1970s, Identity doctrine has become the single most important religious position on the racist right, despite its small size and lack of public prominence. He demonstrates that it is currently a force behind much right-wing political activity and was conspicuous within the circles of David Duke supporters.
Based on a systematic reading of Identity literature, much of it rare and obscure, and the correspondence of Identity figures, Religion and the Racist Right enables us to understand Christian Identity's history and the role it plays in the ideology of the most violence-prone segments of the extreme right.

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Review:

"Well written, informative, and thoughtful.

"American Political Science Review""

"Religion and the Racist Right" is a singular achievement.

"New York Times Book Review"

A valuable contribution to the expansive bibliography of American racism.

"The Journal of Religion"

A superb model of scholarship on a subject loaded with polemics and misunderstanding.

"Church History"

It is an especially useful contribution to the study of anti-Semitism in America.

"Journal of Church and State"

Well written, informative, and thoughtful.

"American Political Science Review"

About the Author:

Michael Barkun is professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

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