Today I read a blog posting in the Huffington Post which claims that Domionism is left-wing birtherism. The author wrote that although he had attended Southern Baptist Churches all of his life, he had never heard of Domionism before he read about it in a left-wing blog. I am sure he is telling the truth, that he is unfamiliar with the term. But unless he went to church with both fingers in his ears while humming Dixie, I am pretty certain that he has heard a lot of Domionist sermons.

Most of the readers of this site know what Domionism is: the belief that America is a conservative Protestant nation and that it should be run by conservative Protestants and that all of its laws should be in accordance with conservative Protestant beliefs. This is not an idle belief, but rather a plan of action that has become increasingly detailed and successful in recent years.

But it seems to that we need to talk more about what Domionism is NOT.  It is not a bunch of old white guys in the back room of a church saying to each other, "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight? The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!" It isn't a hushed conspiracy by a group of nut-jobs hatched in a secret control center.

Of course there are few wacka-doodle strains. But Domionism manifests in the very fabric of most Evangelical churches and it is the founding philosophy of groups like Focus on the Family. It is just another doctrine. And contrary to the Huffington Post blogger's assertions, it is integral to the Southern Baptist Association; one need only read their resolutions on feminism and marriage-equality to see it clearly and unambiguously articulated.

Domionists are not some secret cabal hiding in a back room whispering secrets. These are groups that don't use ham radio or even just have radio programs; they own entire radio stations and networks. Domionism is just the standard theology taught in many churches across America.

In many ways, Domionism is like racism in the South of my childhood, so endemic as to be invisible. And like that racism, so unthinkingly cruel and prejudiced ,that you find it hard to believe that such nice people could be devoted to sucha horrible idea.

To be clear, I don't assume that most of the people who embrace Domionism are evil or feeble-minded. They are not out to rule the world in some sort of Pinky and the Brain power-grab. They really believe that the problems of the world can be solved only by running the world according to their religious beliefs. And if I have learned nothing else in my study of religion, I have learned that deeply held religious beliefs trump facts, logic and even love.

It is worth noting that the same churches spouting domionist beliefs were spouting racism a couple of decades back. These are people who still take great comfort in the idea of an apartheid state, only now they would base it on religious affiliation or "morality" rather than race.

So, no, Domionism is not the equivalent of the birther conspiracy, nor is it the Christian version of Pinky and the Brain. It is what happens when a religion outgrows its overt racism but never conquers its fear of "the other." It is an expected development in a religion dedicated to the protection of privilege, be that the privilege of race, gender, orientation or of wealth. It is what happens when religious certitude grows up into religious intolerance and creates a political machine.