Dominion theology
Prominent adherents of those ideologies include Calvinist Christian reconstructionism, Charismatic and Pentecostal Kingdom Now theology, and the New Apostolic Reformation.
Rushdoony's proposed system is strongly Calvinistic by emphasizing the sovereignty of God over human freedom and action, and denying the operation of charismatic gifts in the present day (cessationism).
J. Ligon Duncan,[13] Sherman Isbell,[14] Vern Poythress,[15] Robert Godfrey,[16] and Sinclair Ferguson[17] analyze reconstructionism as conservative Calvinists, primarily giving a theological critique of its theocratic elements.
[1][2] Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa have said that Catholic integralists have entered into a nontraditional ecumenical alliance with Protestant reconstructionists who share "the same desire for religious influence in the political sphere.
After the movement toward liberal secularism and disestablishmentarianism, several modern states eventually reacted with a revived integralism, often in a fascistic or proto-fascistic form, such as in Spain under the leadership of Francisco Franco, Portugal under Antonio Salazar, and Austria under Engelbert Dollfuß and his Fatherland Front.
[25] Integralism could be said to merely be the modern continuation of the traditional Catholic conception of church–state relations elucidated by Pope Gelasius I and expounded upon throughout the centuries until the Syllabus of Errors, which condemned the idea that the separation of church and state is a moral good.
[26] For example, some Catholics have praised the actions of Pius IX in the 1858 Mortara case in which he ordered the abduction of a six-year-old Jewish boy who had been baptized without his parents' consent.
"[32] Kingdom Now theology is influenced by the Latter Rain movement,[33] and critics have connected it to the New Apostolic Reformation,[34] "Spiritual Warfare Christianity,"[33] and Fivefold ministry thinking.
"[39][40][41] Prominent Christian leaders who support Seven Mountains Dominionism include David Barton, James Dobson, John Hagee, Bill Johnson, Lance Wallnau, and Paula White.
Notable politicians who have embraced it include Michele Bachmann, Sam Brownback, Ted Cruz, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Charlie Kirk, Sarah Palin, and Rick Perry.
In the late 1980s, the sociologist Sara Diamond started to write about the intersection of dominion theology with the political activism of the Christian right.
[48] Misztal and Shupe concur with Sara Diamond and Frederick Clarkson by arguing, "Reconstructionists have many more sympathizers who fall somewhere within the dominionist framework, but who are not card-carrying members.
"[53] The journalist Chip Berlet added in 1998 that although they represent different theological and political ideas, dominionists assert a Christian duty to take "control of a sinful secular society.
][58] Authors who also use the term dominionism in the broader sense include the journalist Chris Hedges,[59][60][61] Marion Maddox,[62] James Rudin,[63] Michelle Goldberg,[64][65] Kevin Phillips,[66] Sam Harris,[67] Ryan Lizza,[68] Frank Schaeffer,[69] and the group TheocracyWatch.
"[71] Michelle Goldberg notes[72] that George Grant wrote in his 1987 book The Changing of the Guard: Biblical Principles for Political Action: Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ—to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness....
Not just a voice.... Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land—of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ.Writers including Chip Berlet[73] and Frederick Clarkson[55] distinguish between what they term "hard" and "soft" dominionism.
[7] The journalist and conservative commentator Stanley Kurtz, writing for the National Review, labeled it "conspiratorial nonsense," "political paranoia," and "guilt by association",[81] and decried Hedges' "vague characterizations" that allow him to "paint a highly questionable picture of a virtually faceless and nameless 'Dominionist' Christian mass".
[85]Lisa Miller of Newsweek writes that "'dominionism' is the paranoid mot du jour" and that "certain journalists use 'dominionist' the way some folks on Fox News use the word sharia.
"[86] Ross Douthat of The New York Times noted that "many of the people that writers like Diamond and others describe as 'dominionists' would disavow the label, many definitions of dominionism conflate several very different Christian political theologies, and there's a lively debate about whether the term is even useful at all.
"[89] Diamond wrote, "Liberals' writing about the Christian Right's take-over plans has generally taken the form of conspiracy theory" and argued that instead, one should "analyze the subtle ways" that ideas like Dominionism "take hold within movements and why.
"[53] The authors Robert Gagnon and Edith Humphrey argued strongly against the use of the term in reference to the US presidential candidate Ted Cruz in a 2016 op-ed for Christianity Today.
