John Joyce, Congressional Christian Nationalist Caucus
John Joyce of the Congressional Christian Nationalist Caucus
Learn more about the Congressional Christian Nationalist Caucus
Rumors abound in Pennsylvania’s 13th congressional district that Congressman John Joyce will soon announce his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to become a Christian preacher. Speculation about John Joyce’s interest in quitting his job in Congress comes after he made the following comments online.
“Today, President Trump visited the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., as he continues his work to preserve the Christian values that shaped the founding of our nation. President Trump emphasized, ‘To have a great nation, you need to have religion. I believe that so strongly.’ Thank you, POTUS, for championing such a critical message!”
If John Joyce truly believes that people need to have religion for the United States to become great, then he shouldn’t be wasting his time working in the federal government. After all, the American system of government established in the Constitution firmly prohibits the government from taking any action to promote religion. That’s what the First Amendment to the Constitution is all about, and John Joyce know that… surely, he’s not ignorant of the Bill of Rights.
Come to think of it, perhaps John Joyce should consider retiring from Congress in order to go back to school to study American history. If he knew American history, John Joyce would understand that the founding of the United States of America was not shaped by Christian values. In fact, the United States of America was founded by leaders who were determined to keep the violent divisiveness of religion out government, and let questions of religious identity remain a purely private matter for individual to deal with themselves, without government programs pushing them into government-approved religious worship.
To that end, the Museum of the Bible is not a government institution. It’s the creation of an extremist right wing Christian Nationalist organization.
Representative John Joyce has given speeches on the floor of Congress insisting that the federal government of the USA is “under God”, but this assertion is plainly wrong. Government in America is created by the people for the people, not for any gods or other spirit beings.
As a member of the Congressional Christian Nationalist Caucus, John Joyce is working to undermine the democratic traditions of the United States of America, attempting to distort the federal government into a tool for the promotion of Christianity over all other religions. To that end, John Joyce is one of the primary cosponsors of H.J. Res. 118, legislation that would create a new national Christian holiday, The Day Of The Bible, to be celebrated every September 12. Observance of the federal holiday would include pressure to worship the Christian Bible from government officials at national, state, and local levels.
That’s unconstitutional, but as a Christian Nationalist, John Joyce cares more about the parochial interests of his own religion than he cares about the Constitution’s attempt to create a nation in which all people are treated equally.
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Would Congressman John Joyce approve if people used his National Bible Day to promote a different version of the Bible? What about The Demonic Bible? It’s a version of the Christian Bible, but with commentary offered from the perspective of a demon. The Demonic Bible includes an angel too, talking back to the demon. Together, the two characters, shown in comic book visuals, treat the Bible as a text to be argued about, rather than as a holy relic that is to be revered without critical thought.
Given that, I don’t think it’s likely that Representative Joyce would support having public schools teach from the Demonic Bible. Joyce is only interested in having the federal government sponsor his own narrow, right wing versions of the Bible. All other perspectives will be left out in the cold in John Joyce’s Christian Nationalist America.