Thread by @BrynnTannehill

One of the weird ideas out there that has taken root even among some people who consider themselves liberal is that it is a bad thing that younger people have stopped attending church.

Truth is, churches have not been a net positive in society for a long time. A 🧵. 1/n

People forget that the Southern Baptist Church was formed to put a veneer of Godliness on Slavery. Churches served as a base of operations for the most vicious segregationists and the Klan. The Catholic Church was complicit in Slavery as well. 2/n

People will of course argue, "Well, that was then, this is now."

Fine. Let's talk about now.

Last night, the Catholic protests against Pride Night were also well attended by Fascist Militias (like the Proud Boys) and far-right Mike Cernovich. 3/n

https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1669856816258514945

Most of the screaming that trans people and drag queens are going to make kids gay or trans, and that they're likely to be child molesters, is by churches that themselves are basically syndicates protecting high-ranking sex abusers. 4/n nytimes.com/2023/05/23/us/…

The largest protestant denomination (Southern Baptist Convention) doesn't get a pass. Neither does the Mormon Church. The people screaming the loudest to crush the LGBT community to "save our children" are propping up networks of ACTUAL abuse. 5/n

Fun Fact: Children raised by lesbians are the least likely to be sexually abused. Not just because they're lesbians, but they're generally not welcome in churches.

Which brings me to one of the counter argument: what about "nice" religious groups? 6/n

Short answer is: they're rare, and they're also dying out quickly. Based on analysis of the 20 largest denominations in the US, only about 7% of church-goers identify with denominations that accept LGBT people. About 90% identify with ones that are hostile. 7/n

And when you look at the "nice" mainline protestant denominations that do accept LGBT people, they're in steep decline and their membership is aging out rapidly. Their membership is generally just too old to be at the forefront of social movements. 8/n

Liberal denominations are a "2-standard deviations" outlier. They are right at the edge of statistical significance. Other denominations don't recognize them as Christian, and they're frequently the target of arson. The perpetrators are almost invariably "good Christians" 9/n

"But what about their charities?" you might ask. Ok. Glad you asked, because that doesn't really paint them in a good light either.

For example, the LDS church is sitting on a 100 Billion dollar dragons hoard. 10/n sltrib.com/news/2020/02/0…

It collected it from tithing, and told members it would be used for charity. Instead, it was used as a tax dodge for other business ventures.

Utah uses the LDS church to provide welfare, which the Church then uses as pressure on people to join. 11/n npr.org/2021/12/14/106…

One sixth of all hospitals in the US are run by the Catholic Church. This doesn't seem to have noticeably reduced health care costs here, but their lobbying efforts have ensured that they retain a right to refuse service to women and LGBT people. Where is the net gain here? 12/n

If anything, this makes the situation worse, as health care is still the most expensive in the world, but women and LGBT people have less access to care, and fewer options due to religious affiliated hospitals

And don't start w/"Not All": Do you see any Unitarian hospitals? 13/n

As for the "charities" that white evangelical protestants like the best, it's ugly. Basically, they never really gave up on retaining tax exempt charity status for their segregation academies. They're still with us. 14/n theatlantic.com/national/archi…

None of this discusses the "community building" aspect that proponents of organized religion claim as a benefit. True. But I'm getting to that.

First, as you might guess, organized religion, and its adherents, lean WAY right of the general public. 15/n fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-c…

You may have noticed several other things. First, we have a serious Fascist/Nazi problem here in the US. Second, they tried to overthrow the government while waving Christian nationalist flags around. Third, the fascists are either supporting Trump or DeSantis. 16/n

If you plunk your backside down in a random church this Sunday, there's a 90% chance you're in a place that rejects LGBT people, despite 71% of Americans supporting same-sex marriage. You're also much more likely to be sitting between a couple of Trump or DeSantis supporters 17/n

You know, between the most divisive President we've had since Andrew Johnson, and the guy whom swastika flag-waving Nazis at Disneyland support. And while in these churches, you will be exposed to those people, their beliefs, and their values as a matter of gospel. 18/n

The same arguments that are used to extol the virtues of religion in civil society could also be used to describe almost any other organization. But it fails to ask: who attends, and what values are passed along within that community building? 19/n

The Klan certainly brought community together, and it was very much a religious organization. The Hitler Youth built camaraderie and instilled values in an organized setting, and promoted Christianity.

But you cannot pretend that either were a net GOOD. 20/n

Which brings me to the conclusion.

Churches, as they exist in America today, do not represent a net good. Rather, they represent a source of power for the worst authoritarians imaginable. Rather than accept that their views are not winning hearts and minds... 21/n

These churches have explicitly or implicitly decided that the end of democracy is an acceptable price to pay for eliminating abortion and queers. Theoretical moderates like Russel Moore of the SBC have been pushed out. 22/n

As a bonus, installing a friendly government will fill their coffers with public funds, while shielding them from the consequences of systemic sexual abuse.

There is no downside to supporting authoritarians, or simply stepping aside and letting their right-flank run amok. 23/n.

The assumption that somehow aging and dwindling denominations counterbalance this don't square with the reality that they're aging and dwindling, and that you can't force people to go to a church they're uninterested in (Unless you're a welfare recipient in Utah). 24/n

Religion, churches and the violent authoritarian impulses of the Klan were inextricably connected. Today, the modern GOP has hitched its wagon to Christian nationalism, which is more than happy to destroy the country to get its way. 25/n