Blueprint for Theocracy

From its beginnings in the late 1970s, the Christian Right has taken a confrontational stance toward contemporary America. It has vigorously opposed the nation's open, secular society and made no secret of its desire to erase sacred-secular distinctions and "return" the United States to its status as a "Christian nation." Given such controversial objectives, it is remarkable how little attention has been given to the ideology that shapes its thinking.

Blueprint for Theocracy brings fresh light to the subject by examining the nature and origin of the Religious Right's highly charged ideas. It traces its belief system, commonly called "Christian Worldview," to four thinkers of the last century (Kuyper, Van Til, Rushdoony, and Schaeffer) known for their anti-modernist, authoritarian, and in some cases overtly theocratic doctrines. The book then explores how the movement conveys this ideological framework to followers and uses it to advance a right-wing political agenda and assert unique claims to truth. The book discusses the danger the ideology poses to democracy and offers ways of confronting it.

James Sanford is a historian studying the roots of our current politics. He writes frequently in the electronic media and blogs on religion and politics at PoliticalOptic.com. This is his second book.