BERKLEY CENTER WHITE PAPER for Religion, Peace & World Aairs February 2019

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND CHRISTIANITY IN ALT-RIGHT POLITICS Shaun Casey

Contents Introduction 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background 2 This paper offers an overview of what is What Is the Alt-right? known about the sources of the alt-right Where Did the Alt-right Come From? movement and its present religious Religion, White Supremacy, dynamics and provides a framework for and the Alt-right 3 future study of religion and the alt-right. Christianity and Medieval Religion Among Contemporary White Nationalists Religion as Mythology-building Tool In Defense of White Christian Identity Potential Paths for Studying the Alt-right 5 Understanding the Flow of Ideas Between the Alt-right and Christianity Christian Theology and the Alt-right Social Science Approaches Conclusion 6

Endnotes 7

About the Author 9 INTRODUCTION

The 2016 election of President Donald Trump prompted American media and academia to scrutinize the “alt-right.” The alt-right is an ill-defined political force that is “at its core, a racist movement.”1 Put succinctly, one may define it as a “political bloc that seeks to unify the activities of several different extremist movements or ideologies” and that is “overwhelmingly white nationalist.”2 Movements associated with the alt-right share white supremacy as a core belief, but encompass neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan, and men’s rights groups with varied desired political outcomes.3 The alt-right phenomenon is primarily an American one, but parallels can be drawn throughout the world and particularly in Europe. Given the troubling agenda and effective mobilization of the alt-right as a political force, identifying the origins and current manifestations of alt-right politics is a priority for scholars and activists. This paper offers an overview of what is known about the sources of the alt-right movement and its present religious dynamics and provides a framework for future study of religion and the alt-right.

BACKGROUND

What Is the Alt-right? The alt-right represents an attitude and worldview rather than a coherent ideology, but at its core is a racist rejection of liberal multiculturalism and mainstream conservatism. In fact, the alt-right is perhaps most easily described by what it isn’t, rather than what it is, namely a movement unlike any current political movements as we have come to understand them:

“The Alt-Right also poses a challenge for political observers who are used to thinking of politics in binary terms. Especially in the United States, with its two-party system, people tend to think in dichotomies: Republican versus Democrat, liberal versus conservative. Thus, whenever a new radical voice emerges on the political right, there is a tendency to describe it as a more extreme version of conservatism. In the case of the Alt-Right, this is inappropriate…. The Alt-Right rejects the major premises of the conservative movement: the so-called three-legged stool of moral traditionalism, economic liberty, and strong national defense…. Because it rejects both liberty and equality as ideals, The alt-right represents an it is difficult to compare the Alt-Right to most attitude and worldview mainstream political movements.”4 rather than a coherent ideology, but at its core is a Complicating the definition is the fact that alt-right racist rejection of liberal members themselves do not seem to agree on what exactly the movement is. Some leaders multiculturalism and mainstream conservatism. In “present the movement as more diverse than being fact, the alt-right is perhaps simply white nationalist, but critics on one side have most easily described by what described such a position as simply a white washing of it isn’t, rather than what it is. the racism in the movement, and critics on the other side have condemned it as a betrayal of the movement…. For [alt-right figure Greg] Johnson, the whole point of the Alt-Right is to become the vehicle for moving white nationalism into the political mainstream in spite of those who may wish it would not be moved there. In this sense, the Alt-Right as it exists today is relatively ill at ease with itself and perhaps struggling to find a clear identity.”5

Despite this lack of established definition, most scholars agree that the alt-right is primarily concerned with race and ties its identity to its modern online presence.6 The alt-right encompasses a cross-section of

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 2 white supremacists, male supremacists, and anti-Leftists.7 In fact, one of the only ties that binds members of that alt-right seems to be a blend of anti-Semitism and anti-black/anti-brown racism,8 as well as anti- feminist sentiments.9 Ultimately, alt-right members’ core beliefs revolve around “cultural preservation and homogeneity.”10

Fueling this desire to preserve white culture is a sense of injured white identity.11 Fairleigh Dickinson University political scientist Dan Cassino explained in an interview with the Guardian that “the founding myth of the alt-right is that the disadvantaged groups in American politics are actually running things through a combination of fraud and intimidation. By doing this, they’re actually oppressing white men.”12

Where Did the Alt-right Come From? While the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was perhaps the alt-right’s most prominent entrance into the American public’s awareness, the alt-right traces its origins back much further. The alt- right’s rise is, according to “The Algorithmic Rise of the ‘Alt-Right’” by Hunter College professor Jesse Daniels, “both a continuation of a centuries-old dimension of racism in the U.S. and part of an emerging media ecosystem powered by algorithms.”13 Indeed, the role of the internet in shaping and fueling the alt- right cannot be overstated.

While the alt-right may be, in large part, “an outgrowth of Internet troll culture,” as University of Alabama political scientist George Hawley suggests,14 the racist ideas behind the umbrella term began to spread on the internet well before the rise of social With the dawn of the social media. Daniels argues that white supremacists were media age, white supremacists “innovation opportunists” who knew to capitalize on the have been able to push the shift in the media landscape from the broadcast (“one- to-many”) model to the internet’s more diffuse (“many- Overton window even further 15 to-many”) model. She points to early adopters such as on forums such as 4chan, 8chan, Don Black, founder of the Holocaust denial and racist Reddit, Twitter, and Gab, forum Stormfront (1996) and later the “cloaked site” providing alt-right Internet martinlutherking.org (1999), a propaganda-filled site, as users a virtual-turned-political alt-right pioneers who pushed the Overton window (that community with which to bond is, the range of acceptable ideas to discuss).16 With the over shared racism or misogyny. dawn of the social media age, white supremacists have been able to push the Overton window even further on forums such as 4chan, 8chan, Reddit, Twitter, and Gab, providing alt-right internet users a virtual-turned-political community with which to bond over shared racism or misogyny.

RELIGION, WHITE SUPREMACY, AND THE ALT-RIGHT

Christianity and Medieval Religion Among Contemporary White Nationalists Historically, white supremacy has been deeply intertwined with Christianity. The Ku Klux Klan famously used Christian symbols and rituals to justify terrorism against African-American communities in the post-Civil War era. Similarly, the push to protect policies of racial segregation throughout the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras was led by the religious right.17 Christian notions of female virtue, virginity, and the “cult of the Southern woman” coupled with racist fantasies of sexually predatory black men served as a central argument for the separation of races.18

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 3 Contemporary white nationalist movements are, however, increasingly rooted in the pursuit of a “white ethnostate” Despite this overt rejection of instead of Christianity. Pointing to Christianity’s Jewish Christianity as anti-white by origins, some white nationalist theorists view Christianity as 19 some, Christian symbolism a Jewish-led conspiracy to weaken the white race. still plays a significant role for Despite this overt rejection of Christianity as anti-white the alt-right. Internet trolls by some, Christian symbolism still plays a significant role and self-identified alt-right for the alt-right. Internet trolls and self-identified alt-right sympathizers have drawn sympathizers have drawn from imagery and messages of from imagery and messages of the medieval Crusades. Internet users on 4chan, 8chan, the medieval Crusades. and Reddit have linked anti-immigrant and Islamophobic statements with the phrase “Deus Vult” (God wills it). Users have created memes with leaders such as Donald Trump superimposed over Crusader knights riding into battle against Muslim enemies. At the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, this medieval Christian imagery emerged from Internet chat rooms with white supremacists carrying homemade shields emblazoned with the words Deus Vult.20

Some white nationalists have turned to other religions— Norse religion has emerged as specifically those they have identified as originally an appealing alternative to “white”—for inspiration. Norse religion has emerged as Christianity, both because an appealing alternative to Christianity, both because white nationalists view white nationalists view Vikings as white and are attracted Vikings as white and are to the Berserker warriors. Groups such as the white attracted to the Berserker supremacist Wolves of Vinland have adapted Odinism warriors. to create a hypermasculine culture where members must engage in ritual physical combat to prove their worth.21 This reimagination of Odinism not only ignores historical racial diversity among Vikings, but also demonstrates the white nationalist desire to create meaning within a white identity.

Religion as Mythology-building Tool The alt-right defines itself by rejecting institutions and political correctness and does not shy away from criticizing institutionalized religion. Trolls have ridiculed evangelical Christians in addition to targeting anti-racist leftists and feminists.22 While disinterested in institutional religion, alt-right trolls have created their own ironic mythology to accompany their political ideology.

Drawing on the culture of anti-political correctness, alt-right internet users have created the fictional “country” of Kekistan.23 For alt-right internet trolls, Kekistan represents an ideal society of completely unrestricted free speech. Kekistan’s flag is adapted from a Nazi battle flag, replacing the swastika with the word “Kek” drawn perpendicularly. An offshoot of the Kekistan phenomenon is the “cult of Kek,” a satirical worship of an ancient Egyptian deity with the head of a frog. Users on 4chan have drawn historical parallels between Pepe the Frog24 as a symbol of the alt-right and the Egyptian mythology identifying Kek as the embodiment of chaos. This deification of Pepe the Frog has been linked to the popularity of Donald Trump by some members of the alt-right.25 Though satirical, this form of alt-right mythmaking illuminates how the alt-right seeks to portray itself as part of a greater historical arc.

Another quasi-religious current can be found among segments of the “manosphere,” or anti-feminist and misogynist Internet communities. While the manosphere does not necessarily fully map onto the alt-right, there are areas of overlap between the alt-right and those who associate with the Men’s Rights Movement.26 A subgroup of the manosphere known as “incels,”27 or “involuntary celibates,” have begun

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 4 treating perpetrators of violence against women as saints. [Among white evangelical Incels have deified Elliot Rodger, who in 2014 killed 7 Protestants] 57 percent ... people and wounded 14 more before committing suicide believe that Christians face “a during a police confrontation. Before the violence, Rodger lot of discrimination” in the published a 137-page diatribe of vulgarities against women United States today, while just and a YouTube video describing the perceived crimes that all women had committed against him.28 4chan chat rooms 44 percent believe that Muslims have named Rodger “the First Gentleman” and “Saint Elliot do. The results show that white Rodger,” and refer to violence against women as “going Protestants may be receptive to ER.” Both Alek Minassian, who killed 10 people and the alt-right and white injured 16 in Toronto, and William Atchinson, who killed supremacist “victimhood” four students at his New Mexico high school, posted about mentality. Alt-right narratives Elliot Rodger before committing their individual acts of that emphasize a multicultural violence,29 indicating the horrific consequences of the alt- “threat” may be powerful for right’s concerning adaptation of concepts of martyrdom. white Protestants if the group ties their white identity to their In Defense of White Christian Identity Christian identity. While many participants on alt-right internet chat rooms disdain institutionalized religion, the most visible figures of the movement have identified Christianity as a fundamental element of white American identity. This division between elements of the alt-right may represent a factionalism within the broader political bloc. One segment of the alt-right seeks to destroy the state and Christian model they view as threatening the survival of the white race. Another faction, sometimes called the “alt-lite,” represents those who want to appeal to a broader conservative Christian base. This rhetoric has entered mainstream politics, primarily among conservative Republicans, as an opposition to immigration and “Islamic extremism” to defend Christian identity in the United States.30

Former White House advisor and former editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, Stephen Bannon, is a self- proclaimed champion of this message. In a speech he delivered to a Vatican conference in 2014, Bannon stated his belief that “the world, and particularly the Judeo-Christian31 West, is in a crisis,” clarifying that this crisis stems from “the underpinnings of capitalism, and…at the beginning stages of a global war against Islamic fascism.”32 Bannon’s ideas have resonated with white33 evangelical Protestants in the United States, 57 percent of whom believe that Christians face “a lot of discrimination” in the United States today, while just 44 percent believe that Muslims do.34 The results show that white Protestants may be receptive to the alt-right and white supremacist “victimhood” mentality. Alt-right narratives that emphasize a multicultural “threat” may be powerful for white Protestants if the group ties their white identity to their Christian identity.35

POTENTIAL PATHS FOR STUDYING THE ALT-RIGHT

Those studying the alt-right must consider three primary challenges. The alt-right does not present a unifying ideology or strategy, so “members” may have diverse political agendas or understandings of what the alt-right represents and who it includes. Another challenge may be in determining the staying power of specific ideas or tropes. The constant evolution of internet activity can obscure the difference between people actually adopting an idea versus trolls simply sharing a fad. This distinction is important because it may mean the difference between active and passive members of the alt-right. Finally, studying the relationship between religion and the alt-right requires interdisciplinary methods. In addition to

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 5 developing methodology for studying online communities and social media platforms, scholars should also draw from methods such as discourse analysis, gender theory, race theory, and the sociology of social movements.

Understanding the Flow of Ideas Between the Alt-right and Christianity While there does not appear to be strong evidence of a direct link between the alt-right and Christianity, this white paper points to a possible flow of ideas between the two, and future lines of scholarly inquiry should explore this transfer. Further studies that track the rhetoric of members of the alt-right, especially on issues of victimhood and cultural changes or threats, are needed to help scholars determine if core alt-right ideology is being adopted by conservative Christians and to understand where the discursive touchpoints are (for example, perceived restrictions on religious freedom may connect with the alt-right’s rhetoric of victimhood, etc.). Discourse analysis may prove to be a particularly valuable analytical tool for this purpose.

Additionally, while religion may not play a role in the alt-right in the theological sense of providing a system of core beliefs shared by members, as this paper shows, religious imagery and rhetoric does factor into the alt-right community. Inquiries into the community-building aspects of the alt-right’s adoption of Christian or other religious elements could prove quite fruitful.

Christian Theology and the Alt-right Slaveholders and segregationists historically used Christian teachings as justifications for institutional racism and oppression. While such an overt embrace of racism is seldom seen in today’s American congregations, there are still ways in which Christian teaching and practice reinforce racial, gender, and other inequalities in our society that may be pushing congregants and the alt-right closer together. After all, white Christians’ recent voting behavior has demonstrated a prioritization of white identity over other principles. Future theological study should consider how contemporary church teachings and practice continue to support systems of oppression and inequality in the social and, often by extension, political spheres in ways that may embolden, strengthen, and even drive support to the alt-right.36

Social Science Approaches Though most academic study of the alt-right is in its preliminary stages and data is still somewhat limited, some social scientists have begun to examine the alt-right using methodology drawn from psychology, sociology, and political science. In any future research on the alt-right, it is important to not simply draw from anecdotal and qualitative evidence, but to incorporate quantitative evidence based on voter data and other relevant surveys.

CONCLUSION

The alt-right poses new challenges to the American social and political landscapes. The movement, though nebulous, pushes right-wing politics into extremist territory. Both casual internet fans of the alt-right and leaders like Stephen Bannon have utilized Christian and other religious narratives and symbolism to advance their cause. To address this phenomenon, those who study religion must be prepared to collaborate across disciplines with a variety of scholars and activists.

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 6 Endnotes 1 George Hawley, Making Sense of the Alt-Right (Columbia University Press), 2017, 3. 2 J.M. Berger, “Trump is the Glue That Binds the Alt-Right,” Atlantic, October 29, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ archive/2018/10/trump-alt-right-twitter/574219/. 3 Berger. 4 Hawley, 4-5. 5 Damon T. Berry, Blood and Faith: Christianity in American White Nationalism (Syracuse University Press), 2017, 202-203. 6 Hawley, 3-4. 7 Matthew Lyons, “Ctrl-Alt-Delete: The Origins and Ideology of the Alternative Right,” Political Research Associates, June 20, 2017, https://www.politicalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Lyons_CtrlAltDelete_PRINT.pdf 8 Paul Dafydd Jones, “Taking on the Alt-right: Theological Considerations,” Georgetown Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, November 5, 2018, https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/taking-on-the-alt-right-theological- considerations. 9 Hawley, 17. Of note, Hawley explains that the alt-right’s “critique of feminism is not usually based on traditional religious arguments about gender roles.” 10 NPR Staff, “What You Need To Know About The Alt-Right Movement,” National Public Radio, Politics, August 26, 2016, https:// www.npr.org/2016/08/26/491452721/the-history-of-the-alt-right. 11 Jason Wilson, “‘A Sense That White Identity is Under Attack’: Making Sense of the Alt-Right,” Guardian, August 23, 2016. https:// www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/23/alt-right-movement-white-identity-breitbart-donald-trump. 12 Wilson. 13 Jesse Daniels, “The Algorithmic Rise of the Alt-Right,” Contexts 17 (1), Winter 2018, https://contexts.org/articles/the-algorithmic- rise-of-the-alt-right/. 14 Hawley, 4. 15 Daniels. 16 Ibid. 17 Adam Russell Taylor, “Christianity and the Alt-Right, Present,” CSPAN, minute 34:51, October 22, 2018, https://www.c-span.org/ video/?453306-4/christianity-alt-right-present. 18 Larycia Hawkins, “Christianity and the Alt-Right, Future,” CSPAN, minute 20:58, October 22, 2018, https://www.c-span.org/ video/?453306-3/christianity-alt-right-future. 19 Berry, 20. 20 Dorothy Kim, “The Alt-Right and Medieval Religions,” Georgetown Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, November 5, 2018. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/the-alt-right-and-medieval-religions; See also: Dorothy Kim, Digital Whiteness and Medieval Studies, Arc Medieval Press, Exp. Publication 2019; Sal Hagen, “’Deus Vult!’: Tracing the Many (Mis) Uses of a Meme,” Open Intelligence Lab, March 25, 2018, https://oilab.eu/deus-vult-tracing-the-many-misuses-of-a-meme/. 21 Lyons, 10. 22 Hawley, 4. 23 David Neiwert, “What the Kek: Explaining the Alt-Right ‘Deity’ Behind their ‘Meme Magic,’” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 8, 2017. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/05/08/what-kek-explaining-alt-right-deity-behind-their-meme-magic 24 The alt-right users began modifying the popular meme “Pepe the Frog” as a symbol of racism and white nationalism. The Anti- Defamation League has since registered the meme as a hate symbol. 25 Hagen. 26 Hawley, 17. 27 These men cast blame on women for their inability to find a sexual partner. 28 Keegand Hanks and Alex Amend, “The Alt-Right is Killing People,” The Southern Poverty Law Center, February 5, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/20180205/alt-right-killing-people. 29 Hailey Branson-Potts and Richard Winton, “How Elliot Rodger went from misfit mass murderer to 'saint' for group of misogynists — and suspected Toronto killer,” Los Angeles Times, April 26, 2018, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-elliot-rodger- incel-20180426-story.html. 30 Lyons, 16. 31 Note that Bannon’s defense of the Judeo-Christian West does not align with the anti-Semitism that pervades the alt-right, and some scholars question Bannon’s personal alignment with the alt-right, despite his reference to Breitbart News as “the platform of the alt- right.” 32 J. Lester Feder, “This is How Steve Bannon Sees the Entire World,” BuzzFeed News, November 15, 2016, https://www.buzzfeednews. com/article/lesterfeder/this-is-how-steve-bannon-sees-the-entire-world. 33 The data for nonwhite Protestants represents a stark contrast. Nearly 40 percent of nonwhite Protestants believe that Christians face discrimination, and 75 percent believe that Muslims do. 34 Daniel Cox and Robert P. Jones, “Discrimination in America,” Public Religion Research Institute, March 1, 2018, https://www.prri. org/research/lgbt-transgender-bathroom-discrimination-religious-liberty/.

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 7 35 Melani McAlister, “How Does Conservative Evangelicalism Engage Alt-Right Views?” The Project on Religion and its Publics, November 7, 2018, http://relpubs.as.virginia.edu/how-does-conservative-evangelicalism-engage-alt-right-views-by-melani-mcalister/. 36 For more on rethinking theological approaches, see Jones, “Taking on the Alt-right: Theological Considerations.”

COPYRIGHT ©2019 Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs | 8 About the Author

Shaun Casey is director of the Berkley Center and a professor of the practice in Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service. He previously was U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs and director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs.

ABOUT THE BERKLEY CENTER

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University seeks a more just and peaceful world by deepening knowledge and solving problems at the intersection of religion and global affairs through research, teaching, and engaging multiple publics.

Two premises guide the center’s work: that a comprehensive examination of religion and norms is critical to address complex global challenges, and that the open engagement of religious and cultural traditions with one another can promote peace. To this end, the center engages students, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in analysis of and dialogue on critical issues in order to increase the public understanding of religion.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This white paper was made possible through the support of the Henry Luce Foundation as part of its Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion in International Affairs. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.

The Berkley Center is especially grateful to Julia Friedmann (SFS’19) for her work researching and drafting this paper, and to Professors George Hawley and Paul Dafydd Jones for their feedback and guidance.

[email protected] berkleycenter.georgetown.edu

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