Trump is One of the Most Reactionary Forces of Far-right Christian Extremism

In 1985, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation group was formed, and in 2013, they changed their name to just the acronym of “GLAAD” due to their past bias limitation and its wish for inclusiveness of bisexual and transgender issues attached to LGBT people. According to a statement released by GLAAD, the Trump Administration, since taking office has made 124 attacks against the LGBTQ people and joined Roy Moore in opposition to workplace protections for LGBTQ people. And unbelievably, in August 2019, the Trump administration filed briefs that urged the Supreme Court to allow anti-LGBT discrimination by religious-minded people with bigoted views that would allow them to fire LGBT people due to their religious beliefs. ref, ref 

In a travesty of human rights, the Supreme Court is set to decide if someone can be fired for having an LGBT status. Thus, due to the so-called religious freedom and their anti-LGBT beliefs of the employer, A LGBT employee can be fired due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. ref 

In a United Nations speech in September 2019, Trump was praising America’s faith principles and pledged new funds and business support to curb persecution for religious people. Trump praised America’s religious freedom record and cited figures that suggest the rest of the world has much work to do, as he announced new funding to protect religious sites as well as business partnerships to fuel the cause. And according to William Inboden, who worked on international religious freedom issues for the George W. Bush administration, stated, “Trump has been the most prominent American champion of religious freedoms since Ronald Reagan.” ref, ref 

Trump, ever the hypocrite and a supposed religious freedom champion at United Nations, is the same person, as part of his presidential campaign, who proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants and asked for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” At the United Nations speech, Trump stated, “Approximately 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious liberty is threatened, restricted, or even banned,” This statistic that Trump quotes as his support for religious freedom is from a Pew Research Center report, which states that Trump is part of the problem and a persecutor for his anti-Muslim sentiment. However, this 80% statistic is only half right as experts agreed that it exaggerates the impact of government-sanctioned and societal religious intolerance. ref, ref, ref, ref 

President Trump stated that America, as a pillar of religious toleration has an “ironclad American commitment” to protecting religious freedom. Trump claimed, “We want and support religious liberty for all.” However, there are some issues to Trump’s proposed threats and reported support against religion. There is analysis of 198 countries that are ranked according to their religious intolerance, and only 52 countries had high or very high levels of governmental restrictions on religion but America with Trump’s “ironclad place protecting religious freedom” has high rankings for a type of religious intolerance, as do several other Western democracies and ended in the same category as places such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan who are known oppressors of religious freedom. ref  

On May 4, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order that made it easier for churches to engage in partisan politics and to protect faith-based groups. Trump stated, “We are giving our churches their voices back,” and “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore.” He also stated, “Faith is deeply embedded into the history of our country, the spirit of our founding and the soul of our nation.” Furthermore, the Trump administration is directing the IRS not to take “adverse action” against the tax-exempt status of churches and other religious organizations who engage in political speech undermining the 1954 Johnson Amendment. ref, ref  

Even more ridiculous and insane is that the Trump administration institutionalize God’s preeminent role in American activities with other countries such as citing God to explain the April 2017 Syria airstrikes and Vice President Pence using the Bible to explain the movement of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. ref 

According to the White House, throughout Trump’s administration, Trump has made it clear that religious freedom is a priority and he sees America as one nation under God; thus, has publicly stood with people of faith and those who advocate for anti-abortion. Trump overturned a regulation that prohibited States from defunding certain abortion facilities as part of their family planning programs as well as reinstated and expanded a policy, which prevents $9 billion in foreign aid from being used to fund the global abortion industry and its advocates. Moreover, the Trump administration issued a requirement that taxpayer dollars do not support abortion coverage in America’s Affordable Health Care for America Act exchange plans. Throughout Trump’s administration, he has been a vocal and active champion for religious liberty in America, reportedly restoring the pro-religious ideals that to Trump is the foundation of America's freedom and prosperity and have been there since its founding. Trump stated, “America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer.” Trump signed an executive order entitled “Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative” that provides recommendations on the administration’s policy agenda, which affects the faith-based and community programs as well as on programs and policies where faith-based and community organizations may partner and deliver more effective solutions to poverty. Also, this executive order created a department that evaluates the administration of any failures of the executive branch to comply with religious liberty protections under the law and reduce the burdens against the exercise of free religion. Furthermore, Trump stated, this executive order ensures that the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the Federal Government. ref 

In May 2017, Trump signed an executive order on religious freedom that reportedly allows those with religious objections to certain activities to act following their beliefs. Typically, these beliefs concern objections to abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, discrimination against those of homosexual or transgender identity of employees and without being punished by the government for doing so. Furthermore, Trump stated, “The United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans’ first freedom.” In July 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as part of the Trump administration, announced the creation of a “religious liberty task force” to implement “guidance in the cases the Department of Justice brings and defend, manage the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations.” And in January 2018, the Department of Justice added a section called “Respect for Religious Liberty” to the United States Attorneys’ manual. The many human rights opponents to Trump’s religious freedom bills point out that the legislation allows individuals and businesses to espouse openly prejudice, especially against LGBT individuals. Thus, these Trump religious freedom bills are set up as “bigot bills" or as a “license to discriminate.” ref 

In May 2018, Trump signed an executive order creating the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative that provided a liaison to the newly expanded initiative for agencies and offices in the executive branch if they do not already have a faith-based program of their own. Moreover, the Faith and Opportunity Initiative will notify the Attorney General of any concerns raised by faith-based and community organizations of failures in the executive branch to comply with protections of the federal law for religious liberty and seek to reduce any burdens on the exercise of religious convictions and active engagement of faith-based and community organizations in government-funded or government-conducted activities and programs. And in August 2019, under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a new rule to exempt “religious organizations” from nondiscrimination law, saying that such organizations “may make employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held religious tenets and beliefs” and that the federal law “should be construed to provide the broadest protection of religious exercise recognized by the Constitution and other laws, such as the Trump administration’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” Thus, the Trump administration expresses the goal of making discrimination great again in his call to make America great again. ref, ref 

In response to Trump’s United Nations global call to protect Religious Freedom as well as closing with asking that “God bless the faithful,” the American Humanist Association who work to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans had their executive director, Roy Speckhardt state, “Given this administration’s relentless attempts to permit religious bigotry and discrimination under the guise of religious freedom, this troubling language is likely nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to privilege Christianity at the expense of true religious freedom for all.” Also, he stated, “Since his election, Trump has attempted to create and enforce special rights for the religious right. Despite claims to stand by all who seek religious freedom, it’s obvious the president does not extend that protection to all. Religious freedom is not, nor should it ever be, a license to discriminate. The administration also announced efforts to encourage other governments to allow people to “follow their conscience, live by their faith, and give glory to God.” ref 

In response, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State state, “Americans have rejected Trump’s version of ‘Religious Freedom’ and the rest of the world should too. President Trump remains one of the most reactionary forces of far-right Christian extremism, and Trump’s Christian nationalist allies are determined to close the gap between church and state. Long ago, Trump squandered any claim to leadership in the battle against religious persecution when he aligned with homegrown theocrats in championing a false, dangerous and harmful version of religious freedom.” ref 

 Although Trump is a force for the extreme Christian far-right, I do not fully believe he is actually a Christian, for sure not one of any devout faith. If he has some Christian faith, it is likely not some life goal nor an ever-present ideology he lives by but an off-hand act. Trump’s proclamation of faith is quite unlike Vice President Mike Pence who is an extreme Christian far-right fanatic believer. In fact, according to historian Matthew Bowman, the author of Christian: The Politics of a Word in America, Trump is not really a Christian. Rather, Trump uses the faith of Christianity as a tool to understand what those of the white Protestant Christian religious right long for in America as a Christian civilization. Even they too understand, at best, his professed Christian faith is a lackluster faith, which is one of user convenience and 80% of evangelicals still voted for Trump hoping for what he would do on their white Protestant Christian religious right behalf. ref 

My friends of humanity, please ignite your inner rage! Why am I a messenger of anger? I am angry that people must still live in fear. I am upset that bigotry, discrimination, and oppression are still such a present danger. I am angry that children must tremble with anxiousness as much as they try to hope for a better future. This insight me to anger because of the encroachment, intrusion, and violation of religious dominance and all its injustice over a free society. But make no mistake, this is not a rage to destroy and lose all care; instead, it is a deep care and a realization of just how valuable and in need the world is for a wave of anger against the religious forces that are trying to bring it all to ruin. Please be angry too at such inhumanity as peoples’ lives are in danger and all humanity rests on a knife’s edge. The situation is so corrupted that it is almost as if it is a twisted prophecy is about to come true, and all is lost. So, stay and be angry, join me in the fight against all that involves the hatred of people, removal of human rights and liberties, and such willful harm to all humanity.

Growing of Aggressive Change in Religion and Society 

The change from the religion of the 1930s to the religion of the 1980s is one of religion trying to assist in helping a hurting society to religion trying to dominate and control a healthy society that is losing its need for religion. In the 1930s, American religious institutions were powerful with little external threat and well supported by the general society. At this time, Christians blamed the misery of the Great Depression on a cruel and competitive society and starting to lean towards social justice. ref 

In the 1980s, American religious institutions were losing power with growing external threat and less support by the general society. At this time, with this seemingly danger to their power, President Reagan supports the separation of Church and State as well as pushing God as a way to renew American as well as the global landscape. During this time, the Christian Religious Right was fanatically anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, anti-pornography, pro-media censorship and pushing religious “family values” on the entire American society at large and provided a mass of votes for the election of Ronald Reagan. In Reagan’s 1983 Evil Empire speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, he described the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and as “the focus of evil in the modern world” and asserting that the conflict was a battle between good and evil. In that speech, Reagan said, “Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that to totalitarian darkness—pray they will discover the joy of knowing God.” ref, ref, ref 

Since the 1980s, the external threat to religion has only gotten more extreme as well as religious cultures because they are being systematically funneled out of reasoned society. In a 2014 poll, the loss in religions’ power was growing and highlighted in the percentage of “nones,” which are those with no religious affiliation, or ones that are “non-theistic,” and these religiously unaffiliated are:

Younger Millennials (born 1990-96)  36%

Older Millennials (born 1981-89)  34%

Generation X (born 1965-80)  23%

Baby Boomers (born 1946-64)  17%

Silent Generation (born 1928-45)  11% ref 

Right-wing extremism with its heavy Christian emphasis in the United States appears to be growing which culminated with the voting of Trump in 2016 and Trump supports the strong infiltration of religion back into society and its desire to dominate over society to keep his base happy. By 2016, the Christian Right movement supported Donald Trump to be president because abortion was still legal, transexual and homosexual rights were being primarily accepted and religious rights to discriminate where being challenged and Trump largely promised to change all that. Trump’s Christian Right movement is the most visible successors of the religious right’s mission to force America to become a Christian nation. ref, ref 

Right-wing terrorism commonly refers to the use or threat of violence by sub-national or non-state entities that generally opposed to social welfare policies and object to diversity. These right-wing terrorists have violent goals that may include racial, ethnic, or religious supremacy goals such as outlawing abortion, transsexual, homosexual, or minorities rights, power or influence. Right-wing terrorism has been energized over the past decade by several issues some that have been inspired by President Donald Trump, as noted in the Department of Justice criminal complaints and indictments. On March 25, 2017, Rise Above Movement (RAM), also termed as “Revolt Against Modern,” members attended a “Make America Great Again” rally in Huntington Beach, California and fought protesters. They carried signs like “DEFEND AMERICA.” After the rally, the Daily Stormer, an alt-right American neo-Nazi, and white supremacist message board website that advocates for the genocide of Jews published an article titled “Trumpenkriegers Physically Remove Antifa (anti-fascist) Homos in Huntington Beach.” ref 

Some Still Wonder Do I Hate religion? Yes, just like I hate all bigotry!

My being an “Anti-religionist” Atheist is an ethical persuasion as much as a reality stance against the promotion of nonreality. Many upon merely hearing the word anti conjure up a hate for all including people. I wish to set the record straight. I do not hate believers nor followers of religion. I am anti-oppression, anti-superiority, anti-mythology, anti-inclusion, anti-coercion, anti-subversion, and anti-bigotry. I attack thinking, not people. I hate the concepts of hate groups like most religions are who push sexism, homophobia, genderism, etc. As well as how almost all religion shames sexually as a dirty, dangerous, or evil etc. When sex is an enjoyable, emotionally and physically gratifying aspect of our normal basic needs no more wrong then the desire to love or have relationships. I hate this all-out attack by religion on human rights and human needs. I do not hate the people who live what they think is a value-driven life. Religion is the problem, not people.

As I see it, religious-minded people are generally only doing what they have been taught or what they believe is right. They are not to be hated but helped through enlightenment. However, if they still choose a religion that is their choice and wish to stay uninformed not striving to force that choice over others, then I guess have at it. I will never respect an unrespectable choice but I would never remove one’s right to free thought even if the thought is to hold on to religion. I will look down on such a choice but not wish to attack your right to make your own choice. But I wish that to be a private choice something completely removed from public and political life. Thus, I am an antireligionist and an atheist as well, not believing in any gods or goddesses nor any religions either. Religions often are used to oppress others as much as they claim freedom. God likewise is often portrayed as all good as a remover of rights and library thus is anti-humanistic, certainty any that are claimed to have created hells are!

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

I am an atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, humanist, writer, artist, poet, philosopher and activist. And I am inspired by philosophy, enlightened by archaeology and grounded by science that religious claims, on the whole, along with their magical gods, are but Dogmatic-Propaganda, myths, and lies. I value the sanctity of “rights” of every person to self-define their beliefs and do not attack people because of what they believe. I say attack thinking not people. I would never attack someone’s right to believe just the thinking found in that belief. My antireligionism is not just some new thinking on religion it’s a new grasp of reality. I do not respect religion I respect people, I don’t believe in religions but I do believe in people. We are all one humanity; I may think you could make better life choices but know it’s still your choice how to live that life. You have rights, and I did not give them to you and would never try to take them away or attack you for choosing even a religion which I hate. But I hate the religion lies and harm, not the believer who I see as a fellow human. 

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey 

“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity

“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref

“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref

“Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref

“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref

Tutelary deity

“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang. In Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref

Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States 

“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and Ur; Ancient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as Florence, Siena, Ferrara, Milan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coast; Ragusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref

“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref

“Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref

“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:

You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref

“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref

“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref

“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref 

Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)

“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref

“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref

“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref

“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:

• Brownie (Scotland and England) or Hob (England) / Kobold (Germany) / Goblin / Hobgoblin
• Domovoy (Slavic)
• Nisse (Norwegian or Danish) / Tomte (Swedish) / Tonttu (Finnish)
• Húsvættir (Norse)” ref

“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref

“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref

“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref

“William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:

The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref

“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:

It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …

In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

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Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com