David French of National Review Online detects an anti-Christian ideology emerging within progressive politics.
One of the hallmarks of populism is that it rarely represents mass mobilization simply for the people. It’s also typically mass mobilization against an opposing force — whether it’s the hated elite or the despised “other.” The for/against dynamic is inherent to some degree in all of politics, but mobilization against other people as a group is a core component of the populist enterprise. …
… Much ink has been spilled analyzing Trump’s populism. And the for/against dynamic on the right is alive and well. …
… Less ink, however, has been spilled analyzing the combative side of progressive populism. We know what progressive populists are for — Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, etc. — but who are they fundamentally against? Yes, of course it’s Donald Trump. But progressive populism existed before Trump, and it will exist after him. …
… The combination of ignorance, fear, and hatred wielded against conservative Christians in progressive quarters is disturbing. Just in this new year, we’ve seen two progressive senators aggressively question a Christian judicial nominee because of his membership in a mainstream Catholic service organization, we’ve seen a days-long attack on Karen Pence for teaching part-time at a Christian ministry, and we watched a stunning online feeding frenzy against students at a Catholic boys’ school based on a misleadingly clipped video segment of a much longer confrontation.
Moreover, we just concluded a Supreme Court term in which progressive governments attempted to erode the constitutional firewall against compelled speech by attempting to compel Christians to advance messages they found immoral.
