Marco Rubio’s hunt for “anti-Christmas bias” is creeping theocracy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio always looks like a whipped dog when he’s out in public, especially around his boss Donald Trump, leading many observers to assume he’s a reluctant participant in the authoritarian agenda of the White House. Before going full MAGA, Rubio had fashioned himself an opponent of the autocratic oppression Trump embraces. He even used to pretend his family had immigrated to Cuba to flee the dictatorship of Fidel Castro, finding refuge in the United States, “welcomed by the most compassionate people on all the Earth.” A lovely story, but untrue, as they immigrated before Castro’s rise to power. Still, it inspires hope in some that Rubio knows his complicity with Trump’s fascist designs is wrong.
Whatever is in his heart, though, there can be no denying that Rubio is pushing some of the most aggressive policies attacking First Amendment protections for free speech and freedom of religion. Last week, the Associated Press revealed a memo signed by Rubio declaring the power to deport legal immigrants for “beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful.” Rubio has supported the arrest of legal residents for exercising their right to free speech and has been busy revoking the visas of hundreds of international students who have committed no crime other than disagreeing with Trump’s political opinions. One student wasn’t even targeted for political reasons, but she does research in biology, a field that the Trump administration looks at with hostility.
State Department employees are now learning what it’s like to live under Rubio’s total rejection of the American compassion and freedom he once claimed to admire. Last week, Politico reported that Rubio sent a cable to all State employees, asking them to report on colleagues accused of “anti-Christian bias.” Even on its face, this order makes no sense. There is no meaningful anti-Christian bias in the U.S. Over 60% of Americans are Christian. Most of the rest are culturally Christian. The total percentage of people who belong to non-Christian faiths — Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, etc. — is 7%. Some Christians may not like having their beliefs questioned by atheists, but not only is that just free speech, it’s less offensive than Christians asserting that atheists are going to hell. The actual instances of anti-Christian “bias” are so non-existent that Christian right propagandists have to make up stories to get their base riled up.
Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.
Unsurprisingly, a deeper read of the cable shows that “anti-Christian bias” is the cover story propped up to justify Rubio’s actual assault on freedom of religion at State. He’s giving Christian nationalists at the agency a tool to harass and even purge people who don’t share their far-right beliefs. The definitions of “anti-Christian bias” throughout appears very much to be outrage that conservative Christians are expected to treat people who believe differently with fairness and decency.
For instance, the memo wants reports of “mistreatment for opposing displays of flags, banners or other paraphernalia,” specifically during President Joe Biden’s administration. It doesn’t take a doctorate in bureaucratese to interpret this. Rubio is seeking stories where conservative Christians were told to mind their business, after objecting to a colleague putting up a Pride flag, a Black Lives Matter sign, or perhaps a religious knick-knack from a non-Christian faith. It would be more understandable if, say, Christians were being told they couldn’t wear a cross or have a picture of Jesus on their desk. But what Rubio is suggesting is that Christians have a right to stop other people from having equal freedoms — and that it’s “bias” against Christians if they can’t control other people.
Also defined as “anti-Christian bias” is alleged mistreatment for “opposing official media content due to religious objections.” Under Biden, the State Department flew the Pride flag, validated the passports of trans people, allowed LGBTQ employees to be out at the office, and expected employees to use the correct name and pronouns for trans colleagues. Under this new policy, if bigoted State employees objected to these policies, they can now punish anyone who told them to offer professional courtesy to coworkers. This is not an anti-discrimination policy, but a pro-discrimination policy. Even if few people use it, there’s a chance that some State employees, afraid of being targeted because they’re gay or non-Christian, will leave rather than live under that cloud of stress.
To add to the Stasi effect, the tip line offers snitches anonymity. So if a Christian nationalist is mad because the person in the office next to them has “she/her” pronouns on her email signature, they can report her for “anti-Christian bias” without having to admit what they did. What’s ironic here is that, because of American demographics, most of the people who risk being targeted by these authoritarian policies are either Christian or grew up Christian. But a large part of the MAGA project is redefining “Christian” only to mean people who share a white nationalist, anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQ worldview — and want to use force to bring everyone else in line.
The Trump administration has been experimenting with using false accusations of “anti-semitism” or “gang activity” to arrest and deport immigrants who are only being targeted for being non-white or non-Christian. On Monday, Trump declared that the goal is to expand the net to “home-growns,” which is to say he’s suggesting concentration camps for American citizens who don’t fit the narrow MAGA definition of what constitutes a “real” American.
The State Department’s snitch program may not go anywhere within its offices. It depends on how many State employees both agree with the fascist goals of the Trump administration and can stomach turning in their coworkers, which may not be many. But whatever the practical effects of the policy, it should be seen as part of this rapidly expanding, fascist program to penalize, imprison, and even kill people for the “crime” of not fitting a far-right definition of “Christian.” One that would be unrecognizable to Jesus Christ, who called on his followers to love their neighbors and welcome the stranger.