Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   You get drivel about aliens, abduction etc from all sorts of people, not just Christians – there are atheists, agnostics…

2. 

   […] last time I had had occasion to write about Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, above, was three years ago…

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   Whatever is presented on the BBC, and I must admit I do not watch the TV, the fact is that…

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   “The curriculum had already drawn tensions among the county’s religious parents, with some worrying about appropriateness and arguing the material…

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   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

ELIZABETH Ivie Szalai—affiliated with designated White Christian Nationalist hate group Moms for Liberty—appears to be avoiding questions from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after it revealed this week that the 1966 novel The Fixer is on a list of around 100 books she wants removed from school libraries in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

JTA reported that “Szalai did not respond to repeated requests for comment.”

But Josh Malkin, an attorney and senior advocacy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina told the outlet that:

This movement of white Christian nationalism is coinciding with the rise in antisemitism …. it’s about putting God back into schools. But whose God? I think that’s a pretty quick step to ‘Let’s make sure we are marginalizing and othering folks with other religious beliefs.’

Literature about Jews targeted

While the current book ban movement focuses largely on titles about race, gender and sexuality, Malkin believes it is not an accident that books about Jews keep facing challenges.

JTA points out that multiple school districts have fielded challenges to Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, with at least one in Florida permanently removing it because of a determination that it is “not age-appropriate.”

The Holocaust graphic memoir Maus, a picture book about Purim featuring a family with two dads and a book about Shabbat included in a diversity collection have all faced challenges over the last year.

Julie Marshall, a Martin County parent and Moms for Liberty activist, asserted in a form challenging The Fixer that the book had no serious literary value and said it should be removed entirely from schools. Not surprisingly she’s not read it.

Asked to provide a description of the book’s inappropriate content, she provided a link to a BookLooks page which says:

This book contains controversial religious and racial commentary; hate involving racism; violence including self harm; and profanity.

Booklooks is a resource recommended by Szalai on her Facebook page, along with a long list of “objectionable” titles.

White Christian Nationalism pervades Moms for Liberty, a group supported by Florida Governor Don DeSantis

Image via Facebook/Moms for Liberty

In May this year, McMaster’s University carried a piece about the dangers of the relatively new, but fast growing Moms for Liberty, saying:

The testimonies of the Moms for Liberty executives featured on their website begin to reveal the White Christian Nationalism that pervades their advocacy.

For instance, the short biography of the chapter coordinator of Moms for Liberty, Pat, asserts that ‘she envisions a public school system in America that is reflective of the principles of freedom granted by our Creator. ‘God has called me, and equipped me, to do my part in service to Him and our country’ (Moms for Liberty, 2022a).

Here, we see a clear depiction of a White Christian nationalist viewpoint; one that views education as a vehicle for advancing a specific God-given, hierarchical social order.

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