Governor Gianforte and The Unholy Alliance Between Capitalism and Fundamentalism
I have written academic papers and essays about the unholy alliance between Robber Baron Capitalism and Evangelicalism. Although I must admit that I have never met Greg Gianforte, I do have a thorough understanding of the religious and economic ideologies driving his political agenda. We were both raised in Presbyterian homes. Greg is the kind of entrepreneur I worked with as a commercial lender and as State Director of Montana’s Small Business Development Centers. We are both capitalists and Christians.
However, our current ideological frameworks are dramatically different. An ideological framework is a set of ideas or beliefs (ideologies) that creates a supporting structure (framework) we use to plan or make decisions. Ideological frameworks govern our engagement with Christianity and with capitalism. These ideological frameworks drive our thoughts, plans, actions, and words. They are also called mindsets. Although this may come across as technical jargon, understanding how the differences in our ideological frameworks drive many of the extreme divisions in our nation is essential.
The Montana Press (MontanaPress.net) has published a series of excellent articles about Governor Greg Gianforte. In the spirit of independent and unbiased journalism, I applaud their coverage. However, I…