The Theocons Secular America Under Siege

The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege Damon Linker What do you believe about America? Do you believe the Catholic Church should be actively intervening in American politics on the side of the Republican Party? Do you believe the federal government should be channeling billions of tax dollars a year to churches and other religious organizations? Do you believe a microscopic clump of cells in a petri dish possesses the same rights that you possess? Do you believe a doctor who performs abortionsand a woman who chooses to have an abortionshould be arrested and charged with murder? Do you believe the public schools should actively teach children to doubt the scientific theory of evolution? Do you believe legally available contraception is producing a "culture of death" in the United States? Do you believe that the United States should be a Christian nation? The theocons answer YES to all of these questions. DO YOU? If you don't, you will agree thatThe Theoconsis a critically important look at the conservative forces that are transforming the political and cultural landscape of our country, to such an extent that the separation of church and state as we have known it will cease to exist. George W. Bush has gone out of his way to blur the line between religion and politics in Americathis is acknowledged by his strongest supporters no less than by his most strident critics. The most common explanation of the president's religious agenda points to rise of evangelical Protestantism. Yet as Damon Linker demonstrates in his groundbreakingbook, an exclusive focus on the role of evangelicals misses the heart of the story. At its core, the Bush administration's overt religiosity represents the triumph of an ideological movement that for the past several decades has devoted itself to fashioning a theocratic governing philosophy for the United Statesa governing philosophy rooted in Roman Catholicism. Led by Father Richard John Neuhaus, this group of "theoconservatives" has actively sought to roll back the division of church and state in American life. The election of 2000 brought the theocons to the peak of political power and influence in Washington. Their ideas inspire the most controversial and divisive policies of the Bush administrationpolicies whose ultimate goal is nothing less than the end of secular politics in America.