On September 11, 2001, Americans witnessed horrific carnage inspired by religious extremism. We saw that religious fundamentalists will stop at nothing to reign terror on those they regard as their enemies. In our response, we began to focus on the oppressive treatment of women and children in other parts of the world where religious fundamentalism rules.
Yet, even now, most Americans fail to realize the magnitude of problems posed by our own country’s Christian fundamentalism and Religious Right. We regard such dogmatism as odd but nonthreatening. We reason, “Why should we be concerned, so long as it doesn’t affect us?”
But the problem does affect all of us. It affects those women and children in fundamentalist Christian homes who suffer severe emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. It affects minorities, particularly African-Americans, gays and lesbians.
Equally disconcerting, the problem affects adherents of nonfundamentalist faiths and those with no religious beliefs who are prime targets of fundamentalists’ prejudicial attitudes. To the Christian Right in America, even mainstream Christians whose tenets differ from conservative Christianity are violators of the will of God and must reform. American Christian fundamentalists are working to change the laws of our land and thus force all Americans to conform to strict religious ideologies.
Blaker’s carefully documented and compelling narrative exposes the full spectrum of issues on the Christian fundamentalist agenda. Rarely have these issues been examined so thoroughly, and at least one has never previously been examined and exposed nationally. Mainstream Americans are urged to recognize and oppose the encroachment of Christian fundamentalism on our secular society by those who would deny basic freedoms to all in support of their own narrow religious dogmatism.
This book includes several essays by Blaker herself, plus additional contributions by such freethought luminaries as Edwin Kagin (of Camp Quest), Bobbie Kirkhart (of the Atheist Alliance, International), John Suarez (of Americans United for Separation of Church and State), Herb Silverman (of the Secular Coalition for America), and Ed Buckner (of the Council for Secular Humanism).
If you value your right to not become a Christian fundamentalist yourself, then this book is a MUST READ for you and all of your friends!