Tony Perkins: Americans Wouldn’t Be Fighting For ISIS If Government Favored Christianity

Tony Perkins speaking at the 2011 Values Voter Summit (courtesy Gage Skidmore's Flickr)
Tony Perkins speaking at the 2011 Values Voter Summit (courtesy Gage Skidmore’s Flickr)

Every once in awhile, a major religious right leader is actually honest about what he and his compatriots want to this country–shred the First Amendment and turn our country into a Christian version of Afghanistan under the Taliban. Earlier this week, it was Tony Perkins’ turn to drop the pretense that all he wants is to stand up for conservative values. In his daily radio commentary distributed to hundreds of Christian radio stations around the country, the president of the Family Research Council claimed the recent influx of Americans joining the Islamic State wouldn’t have happened if the government hadn’t taken Christ out of the culture.


I’ve been a frequent reader of People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch for almost five years. However, there are times that PFAW finds something that sounds so unhinged that I sometimes wonder if its snark. This was one of those times. When PFAW reported that Perkins blamed a recent spike in Americans being recruited into ISIS on the separation of church and state, I found it hard to believe that even he would say something that extreme. Well, it turns out Perkins actually said this in a commentary that aired on Tuesday. Read and listen for yourself here. He claimed that “radical secularism” has pushed our “Judeo-Christian heritage” out of our schools, and has left a “vacuum” that, for these American jihadists, is being filled by ISIS.? In Perkins’ view, a nation without a “creedal vision” to rally around is on shaky footing.

So let’s see if I’m hearing this right. In order to stop ISIS from getting a foothold, Perkins thinks that we need to instead force-feed Christianity to our kids–and the nation as a whole, for that matter. If that logic sounds familiar, remember that it’s more or less an article of faith on the religious right that Sandy Hook wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t taken mandatory prayer and Bible reading out of the schools. If there’s any difference between this logic and how ISIS essentially forces people under its dominion to convert to Islam at the point of a gun, I don’t see it. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, this sort of talk doesn’t just sound oppressive to non-Christians. It also sounds oppressive to reality-based Christians like yours truly who think that coexisting with other religions isn’t such a bad idea.


Bear this in mind as well, folks–in this and other commentaries, Perkins is speaking to the true believers, people who mostly live in a bubble where they rely on Christian radio for news. Apparently Perkins forgot that we’re listening to him as well. So keep this on file the next time he or any other religious right leader complains about Christians being persecuted.

Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.


Darrell Lucus.jpg Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC at Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.