Now, Vought’s nonprofit, which seeks to “renew an American consensus of a nation under God,” has published a toolkit for combating critical race theory. The toolkit includes tips for identifying CRT, for growing a grassroots network and for “winning back your school board.” The toolkit describes CRT as a form of identity politics, aimed at destroying any institution deemed to be oppressive — including Christianity, free markets and traditional marriage — and painting “straight white people” as oppressors.
Once people see CRT for what it really is, the guide claims, they will rebel against it.
Heritage Action for America, which promotes “traditional American values,” has also created a toolkit with tips on how to oppose CRT.
Vought said his organization has mostly been involved in efforts at the local school board level but has consulted with state legislators about anti-CRT bills. He is also concerned teaching about CRT has made its way into churches.
People in the pews want unity, he said, and reject any form of racism. But that is not good enough for what he called “woke” celebrity pastors.
“Many of the most senior, well-known, celebrity pastors have been beating down people with a woke theology, and almost bullying people from the pulpit,” he said. “That’s why there is such a reaction to it — because many of those pastors have been misusing the pulpit for the last 10 years.”
Writer, speaker and Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali sees parallels between the anti-CRT movement and the anti-Shariah movement prevalent in conservative circles. That movement painted Muslims as threats to America’s Judeo-Christian values and way of life, claiming Muslims and liberals were attempting to impose Islamic law in American schools and communities.
The anti-Shariah movement, which rose to national prominence about a decade ago, focused on local politics, especially on zoning boards and community meetings where anti-Shariah activists showed up in force to oppose the construction of new mosques or alleged signs of Shariah in schoolbooks. Several states passed laws, written by anti-Shariah organizations, designed to ban Shariah or other foreign laws from U.S. courts. Presidential candidates and pastors warned of the threat of an Islamic “cultural Jihad” as the greatest threat to the American way of life.
In a recent Daily Beast column, Ali argued that anti-CRT activists are drawing from the same playbook as the anti-Shariah movement. He repeated the same concerns in an interview with Religion News Service.
