White supremacists claim Christian identity against Christ’s teachings
Evidence
It is no accident, accordingly, that many violent white-supremacist groups in the United States tend to consider themselves the “true Christians.” From the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan to the Church of Jesus Christ Christian (Aryan Nations), extremists present themselves as the true disciples of someone who preached against prejudice and advocated loving thy neighbor. The most prominent white-supremacist groups in South Africa portrayed themselves similarly. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 4177
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- SEED: Article angle: how authoritarians hijack the symbols of a religion whose central figure taught the opposite of their values—the psychology of ‘true Christian’ self-fashioning.
- XREF: Connects to the general phenomenon in this book of authoritarians claiming conventional religious/moral authority while violating its core tenets.