# Christian Identity The **theological engine** of organized white supremacist violence in America from the 1970s through the 2000s. Christian Identity is a pseudo-theological movement that claims white people of European descent are the true biological descendants of the biblical Israelites — God's chosen people — while Jews are the literal offspring of Satan and non-white people are soulless "mud races" created before Adam. It provided the religious justification for every major white supremacist organization of the late 20th century: [[Aryan Nations]], [[The Order]], multiple KKK factions, and the broader militia movement. Christian Identity matters for the KB not as a living mass movement (it has shrunk significantly since its peak) but as the **theological infrastructure** that legitimized white nationalist terrorism as holy war — and as the historical bridge connecting this KB's coverage of [[Christian Nationalism]] and [[Christian Reconstructionism]] to the explicitly white supremacist movement. ## Origins: British Israelism → Christian Identity ### British Israelism (1840s–1920s) British Israelism was a 19th-century belief that the Anglo-Saxon peoples were literal descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. It was eccentric but not inherently racist — it was primarily a British imperial theology that used biblical genealogy to claim divine blessing for the British Empire. Key text: John Wilson's *Lectures on Our Israelitish Origin* (1840). ### The American Transformation (1930s–1960s) British Israelism was imported to the United States and transformed into something radically different by a succession of radicalized preachers: | Figure | Contribution | Period | |--------|-------------|--------| | **Howard Rand** | Brought British Israelism to the U.S.; founded the Anglo-Saxon Federation of America | 1930s | | **[[Gerald L.K. Smith]]** | Populist demagogue; connected Identity theology to political antisemitism | 1940s–1960s | | **Wesley Swift** | **The key figure.** Former Methodist minister in Southern California; synthesized British Israelism, anti-communism, and virulent antisemitism into the theology that became Christian Identity | 1940s–1970s | | **Richard Butler** | Swift's student; founded [[Aryan Nations]] as the organizational vehicle for Identity theology | 1970s–2000s | | **William Potter Gale** | [[Posse Comitatus]] founder; connected Identity theology to anti-government militia ideology | 1970s–1980s | ### The Core Doctrines Christian Identity rests on three interlocking theological claims: **1. Racial Israelism:** White people of Northern European descent are the true biological descendants of the biblical tribes of Israel. God's covenantal promises apply to them — and only to them. **2. Two-Seed Theory (Serpent Seed Doctrine):** In the Garden of Eden, Eve was sexually seduced by Satan, and their offspring was **Cain**. All Jews are therefore literal biological descendants of Satan. This is not metaphorical — Identity adherents believe Jews carry satanic DNA. This doctrine transforms antisemitism from prejudice into theology: opposing Jews is not hatred but spiritual warfare against the literal seed of the Devil. **3. Pre-Adamic Theory (Mud Races):** Non-white peoples were created before Adam and are not fully human — they lack souls. They are "beasts of the field" in biblical terminology. This doctrine provides theological justification for white supremacy as divinely ordained racial hierarchy. ## The Violence Connection Christian Identity theology doesn't just tolerate violence — it **mandates** it as obedience to God. If Jews are literally the children of Satan and non-whites are soulless beasts, then racial warfare is not merely permissible but a form of divine service. | Violent Actor | Identity Connection | |--------------|-------------------| | **[[The Order]]** (1983–84) | Mathews recruited at Aryan Nations (Identity church); members swore blood oaths in Identity framework | | **Randy Weaver** ([[Ruby Ridge]], 1992) | Attended Aryan Nations events; Identity-adjacent beliefs | | **Eric Rudolph** (Atlanta Olympic bombing, 1996) | Identity-influenced; targeted abortion clinics and gay nightclub | | **Buford Furrow** (1999) | Aryan Nations member; shot up a Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, killed a Filipino-American postal carrier | | **Multiple Klan factions** | Many Third KKK organizations adopted Identity theology as their religious framework | ## Relationship to Other Christian Right Movements Christian Identity occupies a specific position in the KB's broader map of Christian politics: | Movement | Relationship to Christian Identity | |----------|----------------------------------| | **[[Christian Nationalism]]** | Identity is the *explicitly racist* theological ancestor; modern Christian nationalism is the sanitized descendant that has dropped overt white supremacy while retaining the "Christian nation" framework | | **[[Christian Reconstructionism]]** | Shares the desire for theocratic governance but rejects Identity's racial theology; some personnel overlap historically | | **[[New Apostolic Reformation]]** | No direct connection, but the NAR's spiritual warfare framework and Identity's cosmic racial war framework share structural parallels | | **[[CREC]]** | Wilson's "kinism" controversy and Confederate nostalgia echo Identity themes without adopting the full theology | ## Current Status Christian Identity as an organized movement has shrunk significantly since its peak in the 1980s–1990s. The destruction of the [[Aryan Nations]] compound (2001), Butler's death (2004), and the general decline of organized church-based white supremacy have reduced Identity's institutional base. However, Identity theology persists in: - Rural Identity churches (scattered across the Pacific Northwest and South) - Online distribution (sermons, texts, and study materials are freely available) - **Hybridized forms:** Elements of Identity theology — particularly the cosmic struggle framing and the two-seed antisemitism — have been absorbed into secular white nationalist ideology without the explicit theological packaging - **Prison ministry:** Identity churches maintain an active presence in the federal and state prison systems, where they recruit from a captive population ## See Also - [[Aryan Nations]] — The organizational vehicle for Identity theology - [[The Order]] — Violence committed within Identity framework - [[Leaderless Resistance]] — Developed within the Identity movement milieu - [[Christian Nationalism]] — The sanitized descendant - [[Christian Reconstructionism]] — Adjacent theocratic project - [[CREC]] — [[Douglas Wilson]]'s denomination; kinism controversy - [[Kevin MacDonald]] — Secular antisemitism that echoes Identity's two-seed doctrine - [[Militias and Extremist Groups Ecosystem]]