The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power [Paperback]

Judging purely from the sorts of folk who are vocal supporters of Sarah Palin, and discounting the few clearly intelligent but equally clearly totally bananas right-wingers such as Bill Kristol, one could easily imagine that US evangelical Christians are either or both of (a) uneducated and (b) several fries short of a Happy Meal.

This book, written prior to the emergence of the Palin phenomenon, seeks to show that evangelical Christianity in the USA has much bigger and more powerful politically-influential guns, and has had these for some time. These work quietly behind the scenes and prefer it that way. The recent (July 2009) spate of articles in the mainstream press concerning the group variously known as "The Family" and "The Fellowship", organiser of the National Prayer Breakfast, and its exclusive DC premises, will not have been welcome. The Family encompasses both prominent Republicans and Democrats, and even foreign (and non-Christian) leaders, whom it seeks to influence.

Much has been made recently of America as a "Christian country", even though the Founding Fathers were men of the Enlightenment and often at best deists (Thomas Jefferson famously had a Bible, out of which he had cut all the miracles, and he was accused of being an "atheist" when he ran for President). However, while the FF weren't Christian in an evangelical sense, many of their countrymen were, and the FF knew it and got their message across by using a language familiar to people brought up on a solid diet of weekly sermons. The result of it all was a conflation of the ideas of God's purposes and the USA, of the USA being a unique nation through which God has chosen to do his work in the world, the "shining city on a hill". It provides divine approval of America's way of doing, well, everything. The Family seeks to promulgate this, even, according to Mr. Sharlet, at the cost of closing eyes to the misdeeds of dictators (the "our sons of bitches" school of thought).

The book is interesting, but somewhat turgid at times. And somewhere in the middle of the book, Mr. Sharlet's thrust drifts off course and he burrows into other aspects of US evangelical life and views - Ted Haggard, home schooling - with the Family sometimes disappearing from the discourse almost completely. "Interesting," I would think, "but what's this got to do with the price of fish?"

So, how reliable are Mr. Sharlet's writings? Potential readers are advised to go to the amazon.com site and read there the literate one-star review by Mr. C. Coffman and the dialogue in the comments between Mr. Coffman and Mr. Sharlet himself. Mr. Coffman essentially accuses Mr. Sharlet of committing the sin of which Mr. Sharlet accuses the religious right, of distorting and misinforming people and thereby contributing to the divisions of an already badly-divided US society. So, who's right? Without doing the research all over again, it's impossible to tell, which shows you how careful you have to be with the written word.

However, the book does reinforce one important point. The mixture of religion and politics is a dangerous one, and the combination is always bad, never good - Northern Ireland, militant Islam, militant Judaism, and now militant so-called Christianity in the USA. The belief in the divine approval of one's thinking and the ability to enforce that thinking is catastrophe in the making. If nothing else, Mr. Sharlet's book is a warning that it is not an option to ignore, hoping that they'll go away, the forces that would bring about perhaps not quite a theocracy but certainly a blurring of the boundaries between religion and politics, a boundary on which the Founding Fathers were quite keen. Remember again Sarah Palin, who believes that we are living in the last generation, and who could so easily have been one heartbeat away from the button to ensure it.

... at this phenomenon all around me. And that is one of the strengths of Sharlet's book; he was willing to, at length, and in a fairly systematic way. The American news is filled with the threats and dangers of Islamic fundamentalism (and indeed, there really is such a thing), but what of the Christian religious fundamentalism within our own country, which is usually not discussed in terms of being a threat, but rather as an occasional oddity, such as a theme park that shows dinosaurs and man coexisting, all after 4004 B.C or the numerous televangelists and/or evangelical preachers caught in a sex scandal. For me, Sharlet functioned much in the sense of that website which proclaims: "We watch Fox News so you won't have to."

The author tackles a complex and sensitive subject, the intersection of Christian fundamentalist beliefs with the American political system. He had the erudition to place it within an historical context, and relates it to the secular strains of American life. He starts with his own personal experiences at Ivanwald, the "retreat" for the elite fundamentalists, those who want to utilize "Jesus," the one they define as a tough, muscular one, certainly not the "turn the other cheek" one, to further specific political objectives, as well as the general ones, of expanding the influence of "free-markets" and the American empire. Next, Sharlet places today's fundamentalist movement in an American historical context, starting in the early 1700's, with the preacher Jonathan Edwards, author of "The Great Awaking," and his relationship with Abigail Hutchinson. He then moves in the early 1800's, and the character of Charles Finney. I'm beginning to think: Do I really need to know all this? Fortunately, I persevered, and Sharlet did convince me that I DID need to know it: specifically, his theme that religious fundamentalism has been one of the essential strains of the American historical experience. The author then moves into the modern period, and how Abram Vereide used fundamentalism in his fight against the labor movement of the `30's, and in particular, Harry Bridges of the Longshoremen's union.

The author discusses how numerous leaders of the fundamentalist movements, including Coe in recent times, openly admired the techniques of various totalitarian leaders, from Lenin to Hitler and Mao, although he is generally careful to insist that the fundamentalist leaders are not actually fascists themselves. He also shows how many dictators in the world, from Papa Doc in Haiti, through Haile Selaisse in Ethiopia, to even a Muslim leader, like Sukarno in Indonesia, became friends of "The Family," and were in turn sponsored by them with political leaders in Congress. The last third of the book is wryly entitled the "popular front," and centers on a town three hours to my north, Colorado Springs, CO., which has become a "Mecca" for fundamentalist. I particularly appreciated the detailed background on Pastor Ted Haggard, whom I had only recalled as yet another hypocritical preacher when he was exposed briefly in the media.

I found the book most readable, though it is difficult to organize material of such a vast scope without seeming to be episodic. Sharlet has his witty moments, with some pithy comments like: "This religion isn't an opiate of the masses; it's the American Christ on methamphetamine." And "For Coe, it was Jesus plus nothing--a formula into which he could plug any values. It was a theology of total malleability, perfect for American expansion." And in discussing Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, the author says his attitude is: "Hate the sinner, love the sin."

This is a rich, informative book, which addresses the working of power, and as those who wield it so often prefer, they would like to remain "behind the curtain." I thought of Mearsheimer's and Walt's book on "The Israeli Lobby." Both books steer clear of a "conspiracy theory" mode, yet frankly address the behind-the-scenes political lobbying efforts of each lobby. And for their efforts, both have received their share of 1-star reviews. I read all the 1-stars on Sharlet, and concluded that they were of limited substance, and usually outright wrong, such as the statement by Coffman that Sharlet was claiming "The Family" was "anti-Semitic." I was particularly impressed that Sharlet answered in a thoughtful manner.

Lastly, I loved the cover, well-done as an antique Bible, and I felt one of Sharlet's concluding messages was aimed at me: "We cannot just counter fundamentalism's key men with our own; nor can we simply switch out the celebratory model of history for an entirely grim chronicle of horrors. Rather, we must continue to revisit the history of American fundamentalism--which is to say, we must reconsider the story we speak of when we say "America." In another words, we must pay much more attention to that which we really don't want to look at. A solid 5-star work that will be re-visited.

(Note: Review first published at Amazon, USA, on October 30, 2009)

I grew up irreligious in secular Australia, so I had no mental model to explain the 'weirdness' that I experienced when I lived in the US for almost five years (coincidentally around 9/11).

I sensed that there was something deeper to American Christianity than secular Americans and even most religious non-Americans perceived, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It is certainly not all about the stereotype of greedy, hypocrite televangelists who exploit naïve and (deliberately?) undereducated people. Yet, most secular analyses seemed to barely scratch the surface before dismissing the problem with a slightly embarrassed shrug.

Until I read Sharlet's book, I was unable to start a conversation on the topic of how dangerous I feel that 'American Christianity' is without sounding like a raving conspiracy nut - I admit that I still do sound a bit that way, but at least now, I have the language, historical perspective, and real-world examples to help get my point across a little better :-)

This book exposes in amazing detail (naming names all the way) the American religion of empire. It explains that beyond the stereotypical populist idiocy, 'American Christianity' has a 'private', elite stream. For the best part of a century, these elites have been directly implicated in many of the more 'inexplicable' horrors of modern history.

The Family is far more than just a history lesson though. It is an invaluable guide if, like me, you are searching for a deeper understanding of the critical issues of our 'enlightened' times. It gives a sense of the true agenda behind the recent rise in religiosity and science denial. Can't understand why neoliberalism seems so bigoted and shortsighted, or what really drives phenomena like climate change denial? Sharlet provides some excellent clues.

Sharlett is eloquent, intelligent, and dogmatic in his defence of a really quite challenging thesis. Whatever your religious persuasion, The Family is an important book that you will enjoy on multiple levels, while it changes the way you view the world.

Finally, don't believe me - As other reviewers have suggested, please read the reviews on the US amazon dot com site. There are over 170, almost all five or four stars, but I suggest that you forget the positive reviews and read the one star reviews and their comments...

As you might imagine for a book that exposes some particularly nasty truths about one of the world's most powerful religions, there are a *lot* of one-star reviews. The author, Sharlet, has pugnaciously responded to every one, with enlightening and often hilarious results.