Republicans and Evangelicals I The John Birch Society (featuring Matthew Dallek)

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Robert Welch was a candy magnate who invented the Sugar Daddy and sold favorites like Junior Mints and Milk Duds. He was also very anti-communist. His dubious research led him to found the John Birch Society, a group whose mission was to spread conspiracy theories worldwide. They had major support from wealthy men like Fred Koch, father of the Koch brothers (who financed opposition to Obamacare and climate change legislation).

Some of their most notable campaigns were those against Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren and President Dwight Eisenhower. They claimed that these men were communist sympathizers working behind the scenes to put the communist agenda. Bogus stuff, but they gained thousands of followers across the country. They also fought the income tax, said that black people would not have wanted equality if the communists hadn't taught them to, and argued that the US is a republic and not a democratic republic.

Phyllis Schlafly, RJ Rushdoony, Tim LaHaye, and many others had ties to the birchers. This group had a huge influence on the Religious Right! Not to mention shifting the GOP to accept extremists.

Our special guest for this episode is Dr. Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University. His book is Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right.

Sources:

• Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek
• Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein
• Divided We Stand by Marjorie Spruill
• Helpful Guardian article about the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity
• Christian Reconstruction: RJ Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism by Michael McVicar
• NY Times article about J. Howard Pew's connections to Robert Welch
• Dark Money by Jane Mayer

Discussion Questions

• What is the John Birch Society?
• Was communism a threat to the country in the mid-1900s?
• What would have been the proper way to respond to communism?
• What is the impact of conspiracy theories on American Christianity?
• There are real conspiracies in the US, like those by Donald Trump and his allies to steal the 2020 election. But a lot of Christians don't believe these real conspiracies. How has an abundance of false conspiracies numbed our ability to recognize reality?
• Are you surprised Tim LaHaye, Phyllis Schlafly, and RJ Rushdoony were affiliated with the JBS?
• How can believers maintain their faith even when evangelical culture has been corrupted?

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