Christian Identity

Christian Identity is a conservative religious movement based primarily on race and bloodline. Proponents of the movement believe firmly in the notion of racial purity. The movement gets its name from the members’ belief that they have discovered their identities as the true descendants of the lost white tribes of Israel. The movement is known for its fanatical racism and homophobia and serves as a continuous threat to peace and tolerance (since many Christian Identity members are violent and because of the racist ideology they champion). Their views relegate women to subservient positions, and members also expect women to behave in accordance with strictly defined gender stereotypes.

As Chester Quarles notes in Christian Identity: The Aryan American Bloodline Religion, groups that follow the tenets of the Christian Identity belief system include the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads, Posse Comitatus, and the Covenant, Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA); other extremist white right-wing groups believe in the Christian Identity movement as well. Quarles examines the way in which their beliefs differ [Page 287]from those of other conservative Christians. Christian Identity beliefs often assign responsibility to women for crises that occurred in Christian theology. For instance, Christian Identity movement members believe that Satan seduced Eve and that she later bore his child, Cain. As Quarles notes, most conservative Christians believe that both Adam and Eve disobeyed God and that Adam fathered Cain. Christian Identity beliefs hold Eve solely to blame and relieve Adam of any responsibility for events Christians believe brought wickedness and violence into the world (including the fall of humankind and the birth of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel). These views about women have extended from the inception of the movement into the 21st century.

The Christian Identity movement perpetuates ideology that women should be highly feminine and subservient. Advertisements and newsletters on various Christian Identity Websites demonstrate this ideology. For instance, the Kingdom Identity Ministries Website hosts a link labeled “White Christian Ladies Only.” The link leads to a posting for a secretarial position, where applicants must have “genuine sweet, gentle, feminine mannerisms and be easy to get along with.” The Christian Identity Ministries Website provides links to copies of newsletters in which advice on the roles of women abounds. For example, a concerned brother wrote to the newsletter column for teens called “What's Up With That?” He shared his worry over his sister, who wanted to grow up and become a doctor instead of getting married early and having children. The advice he received urged him to remind his sister that a girl's first priority is to be a wife and have a family. The columnist also encouraged the brother to remind his sister that when God gave Adam and Eve orders, God did not tell Eve to get a career. Another newsletter advertises a series of tapes for rent called God's Plan for Finding a Mate. The advertisement says that men must win their lady's heart and that, with the help of God-given authority figures, they will find marriage as God intended. This advertisement implies that women play a passive role in finding a partner, and that those in power in the movement-men-determine who and when they should marry.

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