Presently, there are several Muslim-controlled countries that are in deed and fact harsh theocracies, the kind of place where scriptural law (called Sharia law in Islam) supersedes civil law, with the government doing things like measuring beards and enforcing female veil wearing requirements; and, of course, enforcing blasphemy laws, which is serious, even life or death, business. I associate with lots of Christians, and none of them desire a theocratic government: a theocracy is prohibited by the US Constitution (often called the Establishment clause) and in the words of Christ (Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s). Seriously, does any thinking and caring person, Christian of not, wants a government that monitors the people for religious compliance- is there a Bible in your home and office, do you read it daily, do you require your children to read it, do you pray every day, do you frequently say “Praise the Lord,” do you keep track of and report your neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, strangers who say blasphemous things, etc?

While this style of tyranny has existed in human history up to the present, religious tyranny is just a variation of tyranny in general, and it crosses all philosophical, cultural, and political spheres: an “antifascist” tyrant is ultimately no different than a fascist one, a left wing tyrant or no different than a right wing one. They may well disguise their despotism with alluring and delicious words, but in the end it’s the same old greed and power- people who crave total control over individuals and society overall. Even today some governments that claim to be liberal democracies are edging toward tyranny, the UK and Germany being worrisome examples. This does seem to be cyclic in history, and hopefully people deluded by sweet words will eventually realize what’s going on and dispose of it, hopefully through peaceful means, though sadly history doesn’t guarantee that.

Not surprisingly, secular tyrants often vigorously and violently reject religion because it can be a threat their power, though they usually mimic theocratic strategies in their quest using symbolism, language, and rituals: there is no God, but you sure as heck better view your leaders as gods. In 1938 a book by a German woman named Erika Mann, School for Barbarians: Education Under the Nazis, noted “Every child says “Heil Hitler!” from 50 to 150 times a day, immeasurably more often than the old neutral greetings. The formula is required by law; if you meet a friend on the way to school, you say it; study periods are opened and closed with “Heil Hitler!”; “Heil Hitler!” says the postman, the street-car conductor, the girl who sells you notebooks at the stationery store; and if your parents’ first words when you come home for lunch are not “Heil Hitler!” they have been guilty of a punishable offense and can be denounced. “Heil Hitler!” they shout in the Jungvolk and Hitler Youth. “Heil Hitler!” cry the girls in the League of German Girls. Your evening prayers must close with “Heil Hitler!” if you take your devotions seriously.”

Seriously, you’ve got to think this grew old eventually: repeat it enough and it becomes meaningless, but the fact that you are compelled to say it and understand you have no choice but to comply is enough for the Powers, a demonstration of their control.

There is a common quote regarding religion that basically states, “Faith is belief in things you cannot see.” Secular religionists turn it around to “Have faith and belief in us (the people running things) despite the things you can and do see.” There is a relatively new secular religion that goes under various names that include progressivevism, anti-racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, diversity, anti-fascism, inclusion, equity, social justice, and so on. Like any nasty religion, it demands unquestioning adherence to their doctrine and dogma, worshiping of relics and symbols (rainbow and “pride” totems prevalent among them), and repetition of slogans and catechisms (diversity is our strength, from the river to the sea, we’re here-we’re queer-get used to it, love is love, trans rights are human rights, black lives matter, etc).

Means to enforce compliance include guilt (confess your white privilege, coronavirus related “you want people to DIE!,” “you don’t care about the environment” and the like), and a generous serving of intimidation, threats, and bullying: they list many sins and detest the sinners. There is no “hate the sin but love the sinner” in their doctrine, and their “love is love” excludes any and all who disagree with their religion. They have a long list of enemies, which are deemed to be racists, Nazis, misogynists, fascists, homophobes, xenophobes, transgenderphobes: were they to use the lexicon of traditional harsh religion we would frequently hear the words heretic, infidel, and blasphemer. Forgiveness is rare and demands groveling (and removing non-conformist social media posts); ridicule, marginalization, and banishment are the usual outcomes.

They have their own sermons and creeds, though they are mostly variations of the same theme. Here’s a recent one from the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, Tom Mihaljevic (salary $3.25 million; it seems that many of the prophets of their new wave religion are really rich white guys): “Providing high-quality healthcare is only a part of our mission. We have an obligation to uplift the many communities we call home. We must improve our neighbors’ well-being, quality of life and opportunities to succeed. We must operate in sustainable ways that are good for our planet. We must embrace diversity, champion human rights and lead with humility and inclusiveness." One can picture the words of love, forgiveness and mercy of Christ or Allah as Christian or Muslim crusaders rape and pillage and slay 1,000s of infidels. Hypocrisy is organic to those who pervert religion, sacred or secular, to satisfy their own lusts.

Thank goodness in the US at least, we are experiencing a brief reprieve at the moment: enough voters grew fatigued walking on cultural eggshells and said “enough.” Though the cultural theocracy of the progressives is too well established to disappear any time soon (and perhaps never will completely), there has been a little House of Cards effect, and some of those intimidated over the past few years, both individuals and corporate, have rejected it. When one reads of large business entities, who up to now either passively or actively were acolytes of all things “social justice,” disavow diversity, equity, inclusion and the rest of the silliness, they do so with a sense of relief rather than regret. Which brings up the “Human Rights Campaign.”

The “Human Rights Campaign” is, of course, a “non-profit” organization that (according to their website) “represents a force of more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community.” Predictably, the head honcho of this “non-profit” receives a sweet compensation package of about $750,000.

Since 2002, the HRC has published their Corporate Equality Index. It’s a little confusing, but apparently businesses/corporations submit data to the HRC based on four criteria: 1) workforce protections (i.e. have a DEI statement favorable to LGBTQ+ employees) 2) Inclusive benefits, eg equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care (including surgery to transform males to females and females to males and related drug use) 3) Supporting an Inclusive Culture & Corporate Social Responsibility, including integration of gender identity and sexual orientation in professional development, skills-based or other leadership training that includes elements of diversity and/or cultural competency and gender transition guidelines with supportive restroom, dress code and documentation guidance 4) Responsible Citizenship; this is a deduction for any public anti-LGBTQ blemishes on their recent records.

Ultimately the HRC issues scores of 0-100 to the 1,400+ businesses that submit data. Not surprisingly, considering participation is ostensibly voluntary, the vast majority of scores are very high, with a handful receiving low, and even 0, ratings, and this is interesting. Obviously, there’s a lot of virtue signaling on the part of massive corporations (“AEG, the world's leading sports and live entertainment company proudly announced that for the sixth consecutive year it has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2025 Corporate Equality Index;” AEG is owned by Phillip Anschutz, net worth about $17 billion and another really rich white guy). One wonders, however, if the companies that receive low scores are “anti-virtue signaling” (good for them!).

There has been a fair amount of news recently in which several well known corporations have backed away from DEI commitments, with the hallmark being withdrawal from participation in the HRC Corporate Equality Index; these include Lowes, Ford, Molson-Coors, Tractor Supply, and Walmart. No doubt there is some “which way the wind is blowing” involved in these decisions, but one can easily imagine it all became an anchor around their corporate necks, having to mouth meaningless words, tell their employees they’re awful trangenderphobes if they don’t smile and “Yes Sir,” or more fittingly “Yes Ze, They, Them, Ey,” and hold endless mandatory seminars about white privilege, racism, diversity, inclusion, ad nauseam.

Back to our imagined Christian theocracy, it’s too easy to envision a Christianity Compliance Board in which companies would “voluntarily” submit data that shows how many times they made their management pray every day, did they have mission statements that declared Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, did they have mandatory indoctrination programs for their employees, etc. Again, I know a lot of true Christians, and none of them would endorse this kind of compulsion to what is essentially fake faith, but it wouldn’t be difficult to see that corporations would become increasingly fatigued at trying to prove to faceless power mongers they are true believers. You might call this Heil Hitler Fatigue.