November 30, 2004, here on slacktivist: ‘Almost like a religion’
It was as close a case as you will find of a vote being a simple choice between good and evil. By a narrow margin — “1,850 votes out of 1.38 million” — the people of Alabama chose evil.
Alabama’s segregationist state constitution is a relic. It’s racist provisions have long since been dismissed and ruled illegal and unenforceable by the federal courts (or, in GOP-speak, by “activist judges”). But as the vote this month shows, this segregationist language is far from irrelevant:
“There are people here who are still fighting the Civil War,” said Tommy Woods, 63, a deacon at Bethel [Baptist Church] and a retired school administrator. “They’re holding on to things that are long since past. It’s almost like a religion.”
“Almost like a religion” is exactly right. And the specific religion which it is almost like is Christianity. This almost-religion, this pseudo-Christianity, has become so popular and so successful that it is outselling the authentic original.
… Leading the defense of Alabama’s segregationist statutes were the bishops and archbishops of the almost-church, including the Christian Coalition of Alabama and civil-religion celebrity Roy Moore. They claimed their vigorous defense of segregationist language wasn’t really a defense of segregation per se. They claim that they were merely opposing the possibility of future tax increases to fund Alabama’s public schools.
You know, the public schools where all the black kids go. See, they’re not old-fashioned racists. They’re next-generation racists who don’t think white people should have to pay taxes to educate black children.
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