The Atlantic: Would-Be Coalition of Christian Traditionalists

Supporters of secularism criticize government leaders who prioritize personal religious beliefs over government policies. In 2014, Steve Bannon, now chief strategist in the White House, urged cross-border religious partnerships in opposing Islamic extremism. Religious traditionalists also join forces to battle for other causes including opposition to marriage equality or women’s reproductive rights. “But even as Bannon and various religious leaders seek to pit the values of Christianity against those of Islam, there is also an internal competition to decide who gets to define Christian traditionalism,” explain researchers Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Brittany Pheiffer Noble for the Atlantic, who point to “complex disagreement as to what Christendom even means.” Bannon is conflicted, the researchers suggest, between support for “Russian traditionalism” as encouraged by President Vladimir Putin and worries about Russia’s expansionist tendencies. “In contrast to Bannon’s realpolitik, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian minister of foreign affairs, has called for a greater long-term cooperation with the West – for a ‘partnership of civilizations’ to combat modern geopolitical problems, especially ISIS,” the article goes on to explain. A truly intelligent and charismatic leader could bind such forces together. In the meantime adherents of any sect are diverse, with a range of evolving beliefs, and many people abandon religion altogether. – YaleGlobal