Christian terrorism
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Christian terrorism is terrorism carried out in the name of furthering Christian goals or teachings. Another widely used term is Christian extremism.
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[edit] History and definition
Many frequently-cited examples of "Christian terrorism" are more closely tied to racist ideology promoting white supremacy, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Other groups, such as the Christian Identity movement bridge the gap between racism and religious extremism.[1][2]
[edit] Christian terrorism centered on anti-abortion
One of the most widely-reported Christian terrorists is Eric Robert Rudolph, an American who committed a series of bombings across the southern United States in the 1990s, killing three people and injuring at least 150 others, because he believed that abortion and homosexuality were contrary to Christian doctrine[3]. While he may have been associated with the Christian Identity movement, Rudolph himself has rejected the claims, saying that he is a Catholic,[4][5] and that he "prefers Nietzsche to the Bible".
Clayton Waagner claimed to be on a "mission from God" when he set out with his family on a trip across the United States, intent on killing multiple abortion providers. Ultimately he mailed envelopes, falsely claiming they contained anthrax, to more than 500 abortion facilities, as part of the larger, and unconnected, anthrax attacks of 2001.
Another example would be James Charles Kopp's murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, a physician who performed abortions. Kopp was affiliated with anti-abortion group "The Lambs of Christ."
[edit] Army of God
Several Christian extremists who have targeted abortion providers have had close ties to the militant organization Army of God, including the excommunicated Presbyterian minister Paul Jennings Hill, Michael F. Griffin, and the reverend Michael Bray.
[edit] Christian terrorism centered on nationalism
The National Liberation Front of Tripura is a Fundamentalist Christian militant group operating in India, demanding a separate state. Allegedly funded by the Baptist Church of Tripura, it is accused of ethnic cleansing[6] and bombings killing hundreds, as well as forcing gunpoint conversions. They were declared a terrorist organization under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2002.[1]
- Lord's Resistance Army (formerly known as the Uganda Peoples' Democratic Christian Army, it mixed several belief systems. It has recently downplayed its Christian roots, but still springs from a predominantly Christian support base)
- Freedomites (also Svobodniki or Sons of Freedom, Canada, 1902-present)[7]
- God's Army, a rebel faction of the Karen population formerly operating in Myanmar
[edit] References
- ^ Barkun, Michael (1996). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. University of N. Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807846384.
- ^ Berlet, Chip (2004). A New Face for Racism & Fascism. White Supremacist, Antisemitic, and Race Hate Groups in the U.S.: A Geneology. Political Research Associates. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A1196-2003Jun1?language=printer
- ^ Morrison, Blake (2005). Special report: Eric Rudolph writes home. Nation. USA Today. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
- ^ Wyatt, Kristen (2005). Eric Rudolph, proud killer. The Decatur Daily. Retrieved on 2006-08-07.
- ^ http://www.stephen-knapp.com/christian_terrorists_kill_44.htm
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842462-1,00.html
- Barkun, Michael. 1994. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement, revised. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press.
- Hedges, Chris. 2007. American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. Free Press.
- Juergensmeyer, Mark. 2000. Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Berkeley: University of California.
- Mason, Carol. 2002. Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
