Flock-fleecing frauds: John Fugelsang's "Separation of Church and Hate"
Many of these right-wing figures don’t have a scholarly knowledge of the Bible and count on others not to have that knowledge either. Fugelsang provides readers with the information they need to refute their claims using the very Bible they profess to follow.
From comedian John Fugelsang (whose parents were a Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother) comes Separation of Church and Hate, a deeply irreverent, biblically correct takedown of far-right Christian hatred. The book, subtitled A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, is written for believers, atheists, agnostics, and anyone who’ll ever have to deal with a Christian nationalist.
Fugelsang gives his purpose in writing the book in the Introduction: “This is a book about what Christianity started out as, what it became, and why it is still worth fighting for.”
For more than two centuries, the United States Constitution has ensured that we have a society where church and state exist independently. America’s right-wing, fundamentalist Christians seek to eliminate the long-established, constitutional division between church and state. This divide protects both the state and religions from dominating the other. Still, as Separation of Church and Hate makes clear, the religious right’s political maneuvers pose a monumental threat to freedom and democracy.
Fugelsang discusses the rise of the Moral Majority and the Christian far right at the end of the 20th century, and how they utilized selected scripture passages to promote their political views, ultimately leading to the emergence of Christian nationalism and extremist theology seen today. These “fundamentalists, fascists, and flock-fleecing frauds” have distorted the teachings of Jesus for their own ends and given justification to haters and racists.
The book tackles fundamentalist arguments on abortion, immigration, and LGBTQ rights, exposing their hypocrisy. Many of these right-wing figures don’t have a scholarly knowledge of the Bible and count on others not to have that knowledge either. Fugelsang provides readers with the information they need to refute their claims using the very Bible they profess to follow.
His writing style in Separation of Church and Hate is funny, clever, and sometimes irreverent, but he supports his positions with strong scriptural evidence along with a commonsense approach to the Bible. He keeps the content accessible, including quips and pop culture references to keep it relatively light and entertaining while providing practical debate tips to confront anyone.
Fugelsang's book is his way of trying to reclaim the Bible from far-right groups and restore Jesus’ original message of love. He recently appeared on The Daily Show to discuss his book.
