Women Rising Radio presents an article from the Substack of Andra Watkins, the NYT best-selling author featured in our program #48. A survivor of televangelist Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority movement, Andra knows full well what the Christian nationalist movement of today means – for all of us. Her thoughts on Project 2025, a Christian nationalist manifesto, highlight the dangers of that religious campaign, to our democracy and political life.
Demons. Witchcraft. Demoncrats. Pagans. As 5 November approaches, Republicans are throwing these words around a lot more.
In my newsletter How Christian Nationalists Talk Amongst Themselves, I wrote about how Christian Nationalists view CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM as the One True Faith. Other Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Agnostics, Atheists, Unitarians, Amish, Mennonite, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Sikhs, Orthodox faiths and more are deemed to be pagan false gods, demon gods, blasphemy, Satanic, and witchcraft.
Additional recent news items on this topic are HERE and HERE.
What could this talk of demons and witchcraft mean for YOU or someone you love?
Christian Nationalism indoctrinates people to beat themselves up for past failings and build treasure in a future heaven. In my youth, I was taught that living in the moment, being present, or emptying my mind of its worried hamster wheel was sinful. Church involvement, prayer, and Bible study were the only tools I needed to build a life to glorify the One True God.
In my thirties, I started practicing yoga. Every night after working my very stressful job, I came home, shut myself in my bedroom, and stretched and breathed through various poses. I couldn’t obsess about my work day when I was trying to balance on one foot or beat myself up about another failure while breathing in easy pose. For the first time in my life, I embraced something that helped me be in the moment.
In 2017, I started seeing a reiki healer after my family told me my incurable illness was God trying to get my attention, which led to a nervous breakdown.
If one does an internet search with the terms “yoga reiki book demons,” one will find pages of articles with titles like Yoga Opens Demonic Doors to Evil Spirits, I Was a New Age Healer; Then I Realized I Wasn’t the One Doing the Healing, and The Exorcism Files: True Stories of Demonic Possession.
My mother sent me one of these books with a plea to be open and let Jesus speak. This very poorly written screed admonished me that when I practiced yoga, I breathed in demons with every breath. Reiki invited even more demons into my body.
I guess I’m really good at hiding my demonic possession, because my head never spins around; I don’t spew pea soup-like substances; I’ve never used ecstatic voices like the New Apostolic Reformation charismatics who seize and foam at the mouth and handle snakes and speak in tongues. Seriously, I could not do this work today without my hard-won spiritual tools. Not because they provide some sort of mystical supernatural power, but because they help me relish every second of being alive. Yoga and Reiki have helped me recenter myself and draw from my own inner strength.
The significance is bigger than my personal story. If my Christian Nationalist mother could’ve forced me to stop practicing yoga and reiki, she would’ve. People in that world believe ANYTHING that is not of the Christian Nationalist One True God is demonic, Satanic, pagan witchcraft. They believe it is their One True God-given RIGHT to tell us how to think, to demand that we find solace only in their churches, their interpretations of the Bible, and their prayers.
Anyone who values their freedom to practice their faith, to practice no faith, to utilize secular therapy, or to use tools like yoga, reiki, tarot, astrology, psychics, past life regression and more should vote against Christian Nationalist Republicans.
It isn’t hyperbolic to make the following list of what Christian Nationalist Republicans could do to make these modalities illegal and/or impossible.
- Non-Christian religions could be declared demonic or outlawed as witchcraft. If this sounds insane, please go back to the beginning of this newsletter and read the excerpt from Mother Jones again.
- Psychics and astrologers could be tried for witchcraft. It wouldn’t be the first time. See the Spanish Inquisition or the Salem Witch Trials.
- Yoga studios and classes could be outlawed as witchcraft.
- Reiki and tarot practitioners could be fined and jailed.
- Christians who refuse to worship Christian Nationalist God could be accused of demon possession or witchcraft.