If you feel like we’re in an abusive relationship with the U.S. government…it’s because we are.
“If she[Renee] had just complied, I[Jonathan Ross] wouldn’t have hurt her.”
“If she[Alex] wasn’t wearing that[carrying a gun], this wouldn’t have happened to her[him].”
Sheila Wray Gregoire graciously returned to the platform where she and I unpacked Complementarianism (the theological premise that women are inherently subservient to men) and its uncanny (and terrifying) parallels to Authoritarianism. Includes tons of research from her team and other scholars.
The tactics of high-control religion, abusers, and our current political leaders are extraordinarily similar. The data/science is clear and your intuition is already telling you this. Sorting out these patterns can be extremely painful, but doing so can also help us make sense of what we’re experiencing in our minds and bodies.
As someone who has an (unfortunate) amount of experience with abuse from authority figures (and religious authority particularly), I found this conversation immensely clarifying and validating. I also hope it encourages you to attack these issues head on - because, quite frankly, the existence of our democracy and the lives of the “least of these” we’re supposed to be protecting depends on it.
Links:
The Authoritarians (FREE BOOK)
Bare Marriage Podcast Episode #290: What Does Authoritarianism and Complementarianism Have in Common?
Sheila’s Substack write-up post-Minneapolis
Sheila’s books and journal article in the Sociology of Religion
