Link to the original recording and text by Cecilia Kingman
Reading this essay, I quickly concluded that Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister Cecilia Kingman was not chosen for her erudition on fascism, especially in its current North American context, let alone in UU circles. Fascist tactics from the far Right are in-your-face on the national scene (lying, name-calling, nasty propaganda, conspiracy theories, Jan. 6 insurrection, etc.), But Kingman also posits worrisome fascist values and tactics within historically liberal UU circles.
Now I would certainly agree that there are fascist tendencies in the UUA, but Kingman imagines these where they don’t exist and is blind to where they do exist. I describe these tendencies as “woke identity politics”, using woke, not in its original meaning of “alertness to injustice”, but in this alertness gone overboard into Orwellian abuses of language, revisionist history, and the persecutions now called “cancel culture”, turning the quest for justice into injustice. In fact, this is a key style of fascist thought control in itself – to turn the quest for justice upside down.
This cancel culture is only a milder version of the notorious physical violence and death of classical European fascism. In the larger US society this persecution has seriously damaged human rights, even scientific inquiry, escalating the cultural wars, political polarization, and backlash, instead of dampening and healing divisions by finding common ground.
Within the UUA cancel culture has meant censorship and deplatforming, censure or name-calling, even disfellowshipping of principled ministers (3 in 3 years) who refuse to toe the party line. In other words, open violations of the 4th UU principle (‘free and responsible search for truth and meaning”) and 5th principle (rights of “conscience” and “democratic process”), all rationalized by the doctrines of woke identity politics.
As a life-long UU and leading activist for justice, I was shocked by the highly unethical behavior and institutional capture by anti-UU ideology and practice in 2017. So I spent the next 6 years in study and activism with national dissident groups, building the resistance and forging alternatives. These groups are led by distinguished UUs who’ve been targeted and are populated by UUs who’ve seen all this up close, especially when indoctrinated ministers have left broken congregations in their wake.
A Deeper Dive
To dig deeper, we start by asking “what is fascism” and how Kingman deals with this contentious word. She cites the 10 tactics of fascism listed by Jason Stanley in his book ”How Fascism Works”. But this and other books focus too much on how classic European fascism worked in particular countries in the 1930s and 1940s, sometimes obscuring the essence that is visible in hindsight.
Thus I define the essence of fascism as “A populist system of identity politics, seeking authoritarian rule, with doctrines of victimhood that target ideological and social enemies using vilification combined with persecution or physical violence to impose social order, trampling on human rights and intimidating institutions into submission.”
Note that the identity politics of classic fascism was focused on promoting and exploiting either racial or ethnic identity (Hitler) or nationalistic identity (Mussolini) with Jews and communists being principal targets, while major institutions like industry and religion learned to “go along to get along”.
A key feature of this style of thought and action is that “the ends justify the means”, with idealistic or even mythical ends, a style also found in totalitarian regimes and dogmatic religions. A similar key feature is that it’s a battle between “the virtuous us versus the wicked them”, all based on serious distortions of reality, overriding reason and science.
A third key feature, correctly identified by Kingman, is conformity – that “differences cannot be allowed to flourish” when they might prove disruptive to the ideology or agenda of the regime. A fourth key feature, also noted by Kingman, is that fascism is like a virus, waiting for the right conditions to strike again, but she is not clear about the dominant conditions, such as increasing stress from escalating inequity, insecurity, or poverty.
Cecilia Kingman”s Intellectual Pedigree
Now we look at similarities and differences between classic fascism and the UUA ideology and practices. For this purpose I define the essence of woke identity politics as “An elitist identity politics, especially of race and gender, based on postmodern critical theories of blame and shame, that uses propaganda, censorship, and persecution to impose ideological and social order, instead of impartial democratic and legal processes.”
First notice the differences from the definition of fascism, especially that woke identity politics is elitist – coming out of university departments, intellectually based on sophisticated philosophy. This is the opposite of the crude working class populism of Trump. Another clear difference is that physical violence is replaced by verbal violence to minimize legal repercussions and backlash.
But in both cases, identities serve the same purpose – to mobilize support among the favored identities and their allies and to establish doctrines of victimhood and thus the target identities. But note the difference that the favored identities in the woke case are those “historically marginalized” relative to the dominant culture, whereas in classic fascism, being populist, the favored identities are a key part of the dominant culture.
Kingman cites works I’ve read on fascism by Jason Stanley and Timothy Snyder but not the books by Robert Paxton and Theo Horesh. And she cites no books at all about woke identity politics – her blind spot. I recommend “Woke Racism” by John McWhorter , who cites two UU incident of cancel culture, “The New Puritans” by Andrew Doyle from the UK, “I Feel Therefore I Am” by Mark Goldblatt, “A Self-Confessed White Supremacy Culture” and “(Dis)Continuing Racial Inequality” by Anne Schneider, a very knowledgeable UU, “Against Illiberalism” by David Cycleback, another insightful UU, the satirical “The Rise of the New Puritans” by Noah Rothman, and the classic “The True Believer” by Eric Hoffer.
The shallowness of Kingman’s study of fascism is all too evident. She proclaims that “it is plain that in the United States we are in the midst of an orchestrated takeover by fascist political groups.” Now there certainly has been an attempted takeover but the Jan. 6 insurrection failed and was certainly not “well-orchestrated”. Note, moreover, that Trump is often described as a fascist wannabe because he did not control a thuggish secret police or militia and was forced to work within the system when in office. Actual authoritarian rule in the US today has been accomplished by corruption and institutional capture orchestrated by Wall Street, the top corporations, and the billionaires.
Enlightenment Values as Degenerate
A key motive of the new UUA ideology is expressed by Kingman as “moving away from individualism to communitarian values”. This is the powerful collectivist thinking and action sought by all fascist-type regimes. The civic and moral individualism of the UU first principle (“the inherent worth and dignity of each person”) and of the Declaration of Human Rights is portrayed as weak and degenerate compared to the strong and united in body and spirit.
Here we see the conformity that Kingman claims to oppose, and identifies as a key feature of fascism, appearing as conformity of thought to the irrational and intolerant doctrines of woke identity politics, in practice enforced by censorship, bias, and persecution. Note that the one thing that most unites the UUA dissidents is dedication to diversity of thought, not conformity, understanding that we are made stronger and more resilient, not weaker, by learning to deal with this diversity in accordance with the 4th UU principle.
Competing for Status of Victim, the Race to the Bottom
As to victimhood, Kingman begins her Essay by addressing the “systemic harm and trauma, which has unequally targeted us”, meaning that members of marginalized identity groups have been targeted systematically but that the dominant group of cisgender whites, especially males, has been largely spared. Though this has some historical truth, she provides no evidence that it operates that way in the UUA in 2023.
In fact, in the notorious hiring controversy of 2017 and in the Gadfly affair of 2019, the traumatized targets were both cisgender males. Meanwhile the attackers were from historically marginalized groups and their “white allies” and were never held accountable for their vindictive, evidence-free name-calling. Since this dynamic has now been replicated in diverse contexts, we conclude that inverted hierarchies of identity are now at play, with injustices left to fester. Thus Kingman’s viewpoint has an air of unreality or delusion, cited by Stanley as one trait of classic fascism.
Seeing White Supremacy in Her Soup
Kingman’s claim that the UUA has an ongoing “white supremacy culture” (WSC) is equally delutional. In fact, historically UU was centered in New England, not the Old South, with many courageous individuals supporting abolition in the 19th century and later the civil rights movement. There is no evidence for any current practices in the UUA that are being justified by beliefs or attitudes of white racial superiority.
The WSC claim comes across like the anti-white dogma that “all whites are racist” identified by Rev Thandeka in her famous 1999 lecture on “Why antiracism will fail”. Such abuse of language in “whiteness studies” of critical race theory has been described as Orwellian, after George Orwell’s “newspeak” from his novel “1984”. Ironically, DiAngelo and others who weaponize language like “racist” and WSC themselves convey an air of smug, self-righteous superiority, as if acting out the white supremacy they so rightly condemn.
Kingman is equally blind to the results of woke identity politics in the larger society. As someone with many years of experience in local politics, including election to my local school board, Kingman’s ignorance cannot be ignored. In particular, the big voting losses to the Democrats in recent years are mostly their own fault – abandoning much of the working class and regarding them as “deplorables”. In fact, the cultural wars have become an important factor, with woke identity politics throwing gasoline on the fires, not dowsing them.
The 7 Principles are Racist
To Kingman, UUs who defend their 7 principles do this only to protect white privilege, based on a mythical past. This extreme cynicism is totally at odds with reality but consistent with the deeply held anti-white prejudice at the heart of whiteness studies. In fact, Enlightenment principles, including our 7 principles, have never had a mythical past. Citizens have always struggled to maintain them against a wide variety of attacks and corruptions.
Enlightenment principles triumphed against fascism only in WW II and have struggled to stay afloat against the escalating inequality of the last 40 years and now against the onslaught of identity politics and the revival of fascist tactics. The current wording of the 7 UU principles required years of stop and go struggle before finally reaching a consensus in 1985. Today’s leadership is very determined to bury these principles of democratic and just governance – to replace them by the obsession with identities and the tools of conformity. For example, “accountability” no longer refers to a democratic process but means accountable to elite caucuses of certain identity groups who are accountable to no one but themselves.
Instead of propagating stereotypes of privilege, with all the moral baggage of the associated victimhood culture, Kingman should simply proclaim that we all have privilege or competence in certain spheres of our lives and that with these assets comes responsibility. How we choose to understand and fulfill our responsibilities – that’s what makes life rewarding and communities stronger. No finger pointing required.
For example, Kingman assumes that congregational leadership is likely to be male and based on generational wealth, embodying “patriarchal white hegemony”, when the opposite is often true today. An example is my home congregation, where the staff is all female, the leadership mostly female, and the bigger donors are a handful of managers and professionals without generational wealth. Participation is based on what assets everyone brings (knowledge and skills especially), not presumed roles, identity, or status. This is a laid back, humanist culture, hardly the uptight 19th century WASP culture that Kingman portrays as still influential in UU congregations in 2023.
In conclusion, Kingman needs to inform herself about woke identity politics to see the actual fascist tendencies in the UUA today, and she is not much more knowledgeable about the authoritarian threat in the larger society.
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Well said, Dick Burkhart!
We can comment on this subject, in general. But to deal with it precisely is almost impossible, because we lack common definition of words and terms like Fascism, woke culture, even what constitutes being “white” (I personally have friends whose definitions range from “all Caucasians” to “northern European ancestry”). In my personal view, Ms. KIngman and Mr. Burkhart seem to agree on the really important stuff; their conflicts may be based on differing definitions of a few key words.
I would submit that they disagree on which subgroups within the denomination are actually exhibiting fascist tendencies.
The UUA continues on its path of becoming “politically correct,” morally bankrupt, theologically irrelevant, and numerically insignificant. Religious bodies like the traditional Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, LDS (Mormons) and evangelical Protestants are, from what I have observed, noticeably more racially and ethnicly diverse than the UUA. The entire national membership of the UUA is roughbly comparable to the in-person attandance at a semi-annual LDS general conference in Salt Lake City.
That argues for proactive measures to increase diversity in the UU.
The term “Fascist” terribly overused and creates way too many obstacles to reaching a conclusion I broadly agree with. Thanks for the reference to Thandeka’s “Why Anti-Racism Will Fail” piece though. It confirms my belief UU’s have a theological problem our few remaining Theologians can deal with.
Sooooo…. It is fascist to be intolerant to the intolerant ? I guess Hitler was the REAL victim of antifa back in the 20’s. Y’all sound just like Fucker Tarleson or Donald Trumpf who both love to accuse black people of being racist to white people. Since you LOVE to babble on endlessly about how your first amendment rights to pollute spaces with your bigotry has been violated i would suggest you reread the 1st amendment. It also promotes freedom of association. Freedom of association means that we don’t have to tolerate you in our spaces. The UUA has been… Read more »
What’s most clear about posts from people like you is your cowardice, hiding your profanity laced self-righteousness behind your anonymity. Real brave, and broadcasts your miserable lack of integrity for all to see.
The anger in your response is indicative of my UU experience. But “dismissiveness better describes the response I got from questioning the new doctrine. But both anger and dismissiveness show an unwillingness to have a conversation.
There is a middle ground between Fucker Tarleson and Ibram Kendi. Those are the extremes of “anti-racism” opinion.
Rev. Sarah, you need to stop hiding behind these aliases and just be open about how low ordained ministry in the UUA has sunk.
Dis Gusted is a UU minister?
I’ve had UU Minister lash out like this. I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m not a fan of “curating” posts but anonymity is a problem.
Do you suppose it’s really her? The “y’all” is kind of a tell.
“We don’t have to tolerate you in our spaces”, is the perfect example of Mr. Burkhart’s point of the UUA leadership and its followers rejecting the enlightenment values of tolerance, reason and freedom. Diversity of thought is not only rejected, it is attacked. Conformity is mandatory under the UUA leadership’s ideology. This is why I joined NAUA, where I feel welcome.
The thing is that there is diversity of thought in UU and in every UU congregation. How do the UUA leaders and ministers propose changing that? It cannot be done.
There’s also such arrogance and narcissism to such expectations of conformity. “I want everyone’s thoughts to conform . . . to what I think.” It’s like people who want restrictions on speech. They always wish to restrict others’ speech but not theirs.
As Dick says, the viewpoint diversity in UU, or any organization, it its strength and healthiness.
Also, what is so ridiculous about these ad hominem attacks comparing politically left UUs to the alt-right, trump, etc. is that if you know Dick, you know that he is a Socialist-Democrat who supported Kwama Swant, of the socialist party, for Seattle City Council. Dick is politically Far Left.
You sound like one angry ladybug, Ms. Skochko!
Lol, i ain’t her. She is way nicer than me !!!
Who isn’t?
Thanks for your analysis of this issue, Dick. There are a variety of angles from which to approach this problem. I look at it from the vantage point of human tribal and emotional needs. Currently much of the U.S. is immersed in Right Wing propaganda and many members of Congress are Right Wing authoritarians. I see Left Wing authoritarians as being dominant at UUA and in a few progressive organizations. I don’t see them as a threat nationally at all right now. Right Wing authoritarian or fascist takeover, in contrast, is our biggest national political danger. When humans get stressed… Read more »
I wish to complement Dick Burkhart for his excellent overview and for sharing his experience and results of his research with us. Articles of this excellence are making history, and hopefully will help save our UU faith.
In an otherwise thought provoking article, I was dismayed to read the tired trope that democrats abandoned the working class. I don’t think decades of honest effort to improve wages, working conditions, and access to health care constitute abandonment. The recent very encouraging news that wages among the lower couple of quintiles have improved markedly attests to that in part. However, imperfect the effort, it is unfair to pretend it hasn’t happened. Moreover, as I understand it, there is considerable evidence that the primary motivating factor for Trump supporters is racial animus, not economic anxiety. I am horrified by the… Read more »
Thank you, and I agree completely. I particularly appreciate your counterpoint on “abandoning the working class”. There is a reactionary element in our U.S. society, like the Proud Boys, that do fit a deplorable category. But I do feel there is sufficient evidence to argue that the Democrats have continued to support unions and general wage improvement policies.
It might be the “working class” abandoned Democrats. Ruy Teixeira, Robert Reich, and many others have written about the shift of voters without College degrees no longer voting for Democrats. First among white voters, especially males, but a trend now expanding to Hispanics, African Americans, and Women. Inflation is a shift of money from one set of pockets to another. How this shift of wealth plays out politically I don’t know, but I do know most voters look to the future, not past, when it comes to selecting candidates. What Democrats have done in the past likely won’t count for… Read more »
The comments that follow may be off topic and I’ll apologize if it’s appropriate. Still, the Unitarian Universalists (with everybody else) are caught in a crisis. The summer of 2023 has seen one climate-related disaster after another. Heat waves, hundreds of forest fires, floods in some places, droughts in other places, and plenty of other problems. Unitarian Universalists have been raising climate change concerns at the General Assembly for at least twenty years. Question: What, if anything, is the UUA doing this summer that’s helpful? Much has been said about saving “marginalized people” and the preaching may be mentioned again… Read more »
My former Church, The UU Society of Geneva Illinois, did much work providing meals and safe housing. My work there with the Social Justice Committee was the most satisfying part of belonging to UUSG. We never expected anything from UUA. I don’t think UUA could do much even if they wanted too. That’s just not UUA’s mission IMO. Unitarians and Universalist getting out of the Settlement House effort probably best evidence Churches not great at this kind of work. Congregations and certainly not central offices best left to partner with organizations who understand needs better. UUA spouts much nonsense, and… Read more »
While I think Dick Burkhart’s article is better than Rev. Kingman’s essay — at least when he levies the charge of “fascist tendencies” he gives some specific examples, whereas she does not — I think on the whole it would be better to avoid accusing “the other side” of fascism or even “fascist tendencies”. I think full-blown fascism, in my view, would include a number of elements: A charismatic, populist leader A mass political party with a reasonably cohesive ideology A willingness to override all liberal and democratic norms such as rule of law, etc. A demonization of particular groups,… Read more »
Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt is quite charismatic and … “The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Association is to actively engage its members in the transformation of the world through liberating Love.” … is an ideological “call” – which is to be enforced by “covenant” and “accountability.” The Article ll definition of “love” is pretty coherent about becoming an activist anti-oppressive collective “love in action.” And “demonization” – ask any prominent dissident, like Rev. Dr. Todd Eklof. They’ve got that well covered (even have a Gestapo leader in Sarah Skochko – ready and willing to hunt down evil gadfly “demons” ).… Read more »
Aaaannd let’s ask BARD (google’s A.I.) The illiberal takeover in Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a complex issue with no easy answers. However, there are some similarities between this takeover and fascism.Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy. It is often characterized by a cult of personality, widespread use of propaganda, and a desire to achieve national rebirth.The illiberal takeover in UU can be seen as a form of authoritarian ultranationalism. The takeover has been characterized by the suppression of dissent, the silencing… Read more »
We will have to agree to disagree. I simply don’t think that the attitude of most or even some UUAs towards Rev. Betancourt is that she is “infallible and beyond reproach”. Or, for that matter, any of the other major UU leaders favoring these changes. My view is that “fascism” is a pretty extreme accusation to make. It is an extraordinary accusation. It demands very strong evidence. And it demands having all the key elements of fascism, not just some tendencies that also occur in fascism. Now, this does not mean that the UUA is not doing things that are… Read more »
And I would add that I regard the following statement
“The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Association is to actively engage its members in the transformation of the world through liberating Love.”
to be vague mush.
Now, one problem is that some people will INTERPRET this in very illiberal directions. I agree with you there. That is one problem when the UUA adopts positions and bylaws that are vague mush — vague langauge can lead to abuses.
But by itself — the statement really does not have much in the way of inherent meaning. It could mean almost anything.
If you follow the “True Believer” then inherent meaning takes a back seat to a powerful slogan, a fine sounding rhetorical hook, that will engage true believers in joining a mass movement, joining groupthink – as evidenced at GA.
Re Sofia Betancourt, listen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BuIcE8MJJA
I’ve seen this sermon before. I don’t think it is a particularly good sermon, largely because it is too vague and abstract. The closest it comes to a clear statement is when she calls on UUism to be in “dialogue” with “critical race theory”, and even that is vague because she does not explain what she means by this “dialogue”. I find it difficult to believe that most UUs would find this to be even an above-average sermon for a UU minister. But maybe I’m totally wrong! Maybe there is a large percentage of UUs who find this vague rhetoric… Read more »
While we can argue about the meaning of the term “fascism” and whether or no it should be used to describe the behavior of UU leadership, let’s recall that this has been and remains the keynote accusation leveled by such as Kingman at all who identify as “gadfly” dissenters. Hell, McCarty wrote a whole tome preparing this accusation again and again until you realize that’s really all his book has to say. I think it appropriate for Dick to take that on directly as he has here. As to whether UU leadership has a clear ideology, I think they do… Read more »
I certainly agree that it is a disturbing trend that UU organizations are endorsing the claim that UU dissidents have “fascist tendencies” or even that they are alt-right or Trumpers, etc. In this respect, I think the Rev. Kingman essay is more disturbing than Rev. McCarty’s book in three respects : (1) Rev. Kingman’s essay has been prominently promoted by UU organizations, from the UUA to Side with Love to UU World to the UUMA to the UUA Facebook page. This comes close to official endorsement of Rev. Kingman’s views. In contrast, although Rev. McCarty’s book makes unfounded accusations, I… Read more »
I think SOME individuals within the UUA have a clear ideology. But I find much of what is written by the Article II Revision Commission, the COIC, and the UUA Board to be quite muddled. This reflects that some people have a strong ideology, however you want to name it (no one seems to agree on the right name to use). But other simply have much vaguer beliefs. You combine this all and you get a muddle.
I’m curious. What was the prompt used to get this AI response?
There is a wonderful article in today’s NY Times by Nicholas Kristof in which he attributes the decline of the Christian religion in America to the leaders of the Christian church as they embraced extreme unloving right wing politics. Unfortunately, we are seeing the same thing happening with extreme left wing politics and the rapid decline in our small denomination. If anyone knows Kristof personally, I suggest they contact him and alert him to our story so he can see it’s happening on both sides of the political spectrum.
Unfortunately, I don’t think he would be interested in learning about extreme left-wing religion. It doesn’t fit the narrative.
Mental masterbation floods the UUA, plenary sessions, and politic. Christian nationalism threatens American fabric structure and we’re fighting over words
The purpose of the Berry Street Essay is to contribute to the practical strength of liberal ministries. It was started in 1820, so it’s more than 200 years old. This 2023 essay breaks sharply with the traditional purpose. Rev. Kingman’s lecture a strident denunciation of liberal white UUs and anything but liberal. It’s bogus agitprop, and I’m sorry to see the UUA haring off down this destructive path.
I just found this site. It is good that you are here.
regarding ‘whiteness’, i decided years ago that when the paperwork asked my race to write ‘honkie’…..cannot remember the last time i was asked for clarification.