# Dominionism The umbrella concept that ties together the major active Christian-right projects to **establish Christian governance over civil society — especially the United States — as a theological imperative**. Dominionism is not a single denomination or movement but a **family of theological-political programs** that share a single core commitment: that Christians have a divine mandate to "take dominion" over earthly institutions in fulfillment of Genesis 1:28 ("Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…") and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. The two most institutionally consequential dominionist movements in the contemporary US are: 1. **[[Christian Reconstructionism]]** — Reformed, postmillennial, theonomic. R.J. Rushdoony's project: apply Old Testament civil law to modern American government. Carriers: Chalcedon Foundation, [[CREC]], Wilson/Moscow ID orbit, the [[Theobros]] young-Reformed insurgency. 2. **[[New Apostolic Reformation]]** — charismatic, postmillennial, prophetic. C. Peter Wagner's reorganization of late-20th-century charismatic Christianity around restored apostolic and prophetic offices. Carriers: [[Bethel Church]] (Bill Johnson), [[IHOP-KC]] (Mike Bickle), [[Global Spheres Inc]] (Chuck Pierce), [[Lance Wallnau]]'s networks; expressed politically through the **[[Seven Mountain Mandate]]**. These two movements **come from completely different theological worlds** (rigid Calvinist Reformed vs. Spirit-filled charismatic), have historically distrusted one another, and have substantially different liturgical, ecclesiological, and pastoral cultures. **What unites them is dominionism**: the conviction that Christians should be running things, and that the present generation has a particular mandate to do so. Their convergence in the post-2016 Trump-era religious right is one of the load-bearing alliances of contemporary Christian Nationalism. This entry maps the concept; for the substantive doctrines, see the dedicated [[Christian Reconstructionism]] and [[New Apostolic Reformation]] entries. For the eschatology that distinguishes dominionists from the [[Dispensationalism]] / [[Christian Zionism]] wing, see [[Christian Eschatology]]. ## Origin of the Term The label "dominionism" as an analytic category was developed and popularized by **sociologist Sara Diamond** in her 1989 book *Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right* and her subsequent work, particularly *Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States* (Guilford Press, 1995). Diamond's framework was sharpened and disseminated by **Frederick Clarkson** at **Political Research Associates** (PRA) through his 1994 *The Public Eye* essay "Christian Reconstructionism: Theocratic Dominionism Gains Influence" and his 1997 book *Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy*. The term is **largely an outsider analytic category**. Most figures called dominionists by Diamond, Clarkson, and subsequent journalists do not call themselves dominionists — they call themselves "Reconstructionists," "Reformed," "kingdom-minded," "biblically engaged," or "Christian Nationalists." [[Douglas Wilson]] in particular has explicitly rejected the "dominionist" label, while writing books and articles that academic observers find indistinguishable from dominionist programs. This is a recurring pattern: the carriers prefer their own self-descriptions; the analytic literature uses "dominionism" as the umbrella; both describe the same operational project. The term was briefly mainstream in the 2011–2012 cycle when **[[Michele Bachmann]]** and **[[Rick Perry]]** ran for the Republican presidential nomination and journalists discovered the dominionist backgrounds of both candidates' religious networks (Bachmann's links to Reconstructionist legal scholar John Eidsmoe; Perry's prayer rally with C. Peter Wagner-aligned New Apostolic Reformation figures). The wave of explanatory journalism in 2011 — Ryan Lizza in *The New Yorker*, Sarah Posner at *Religion Dispatches*, Diana Butler Bass — established "dominionism" as an entry point for mainstream understanding of the religious-right's theocratic wing. ## The Core Dominionist Claims Across both Reconstructionist and NAR variants, the dominionist program rests on a tight stack of commitments: 1. **The dominion mandate is universal and ongoing.** Genesis 1:28 ("be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion") is read as a continuing command to humanity — and, after Christ's resurrection, specifically as a command to the Church to establish Christ's kingship over all spheres of life. 2. **The Great Commission requires kingdom-building, not just evangelism.** Matthew 28:18-20 ("All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… make disciples of all nations") is read as discipling *nations* — not just individuals — into Christian governance. 3. **The kingdom is established before Christ returns** (postmillennialism). Christ does not return to a chaotic world to set up the kingdom; the Church builds the kingdom and Christ returns to a world already substantially Christianized. This is the eschatological commitment that distinguishes dominionists from [[Dispensationalism]] (who expect the world to get worse until the Rapture). 4. **The state, as a divine institution, must be Christian.** "Religious neutrality" in government is impossible — every governmental order is religious in some sense, and the only real choice is *which* religious framework will govern. The (post-Constantinian) Christian state is the goal; "secular" liberal democracy is read as a temporary aberration. 5. **All seven (or however many) spheres of culture are arenas of Christian responsibility.** The NAR variant systematizes this as the [[Seven Mountain Mandate]] (religion, family, education, government, media, arts/entertainment, business). The Reconstructionist variant doesn't always use the seven-mountains framework but operates the same expansive vision through its concept of "every square inch" (Kuyperian). ## The Two Major Variants ### Hard Dominionism / Christian Reconstructionism **Founder**: [[R.J. Rushdoony]] (1916–2001), Armenian-American Calvinist theologian. **Foundational text**: *[[The Institutes of Biblical Law]]* (1973). **Key concept**: [[Theonomy]] — the application of Old Testament civil and judicial law to modern states. **Core figures**: Rushdoony, [[Gary North]], [[Greg Bahnsen]], [[Douglas Wilson]] (denied label, fits operationally), Joseph Morecraft, Andrew Sandlin. **Eschatology**: Postmillennial. **Polity**: Reformed, Presbyterian, mostly cessationist. **Scope**: The most aggressive version. Rushdoony's *Institutes* lists capital crimes drawn from Mosaic law — including adultery, blasphemy, idolatry, "incorrigibility" of children, and homosexuality — and argues that a properly constituted Christian civil order would impose the death penalty for all of them. Most contemporary Reconstructionist-influenced figures soften or distance from the most extreme penal applications while retaining the underlying theonomic framework. **Carriers**: Chalcedon Foundation (Rushdoony's institutional vehicle); American Vision (Gary DeMar); [[CREC]] denomination; [[Christian Network State]] / [[Theobros]] — the contemporary insurgency. **Distinctive feature**: A complete intellectual system — economics (Gary North), education (homeschool theory), law (theonomy), liturgy (Reformed), eschatology (postmillennial). The Reconstructionist project is a *comprehensive* alternative civilization, not just a political program. ### Soft Dominionism / Charismatic Dominionism / NAR **Founder/systematizer**: [[C. Peter Wagner]] (1930–2016), Fuller Theological Seminary church-growth theorist who reframed the late-20th-century charismatic movement as a "[[New Apostolic Reformation]]" in the late 1990s. **Foundational concept**: The restored offices of **apostle** and **prophet** as governing offices in the contemporary church. **Key concept**: The **[[Seven Mountain Mandate]]** (popularized by Lance Wallnau, drawn from a 1975 vision attributed to [[Bill Bright]], Loren Cunningham, and [[Francis Schaeffer]]): Christians should "take" the seven mountains of cultural influence — religion, family, education, government, media, arts, business. **Core figures**: [[C. Peter Wagner]], [[Lance Wallnau]], [[Cindy Jacobs]], [[Chuck Pierce]], [[Dutch Sheets]], [[Bill Johnson]] (Bethel), [[Mike Bickle]] (IHOP-KC, scandal-disgraced 2023), [[Hank Kunneman]], [[Sean Feucht]], [[Paula White]] (politically), [[Robert Morris]] (politically). **Eschatology**: Postmillennial — but charismatic "kingdom now" rather than Reformed "civil law" framing. **Polity**: Charismatic, continuationist, neo-Pentecostal. **Scope**: Less doctrinally systematic than Reconstructionism but **broader in popular reach**. NAR's mass-evangelical appeal and adoption by Trump-era political figures (Paula White on the [[Trump White House]] Faith Office; the Trump Evangelical Advisory Board cohort; [[Russell Vought]]'s and [[Pete Hegseth]]'s adjacencies) gives it political weight Reconstructionism never achieved. **Distinctive feature**: Operates through prophetic authority and spiritual-warfare framing rather than legal-doctrinal argument. Political opponents are framed as demonically inspired; political mobilization is framed as prophetic obedience. ### Other Dominionist Strains - **[[Catholic Post-Liberalism]] / [[Integralism]]** — the Catholic counterpart, with [[Adrian Vermeule]], [[Patrick Deneen]], [[Sohrab Ahmari]] articulating a Catholic version of the dominionist program. Theological premises differ (sacramental, Thomist, Magisterium-based rather than sola-Scriptura) but the operational program — reject post-1965 liberal pluralism, build Christian governing institutions, treat secular liberalism as a passing aberration — is structurally analogous. - **Mormon dominion theology** — strands within LDS political theology (especially in conservative Utah-Idaho politics) share the broad "establish Zion" project but operate inside a distinct theological frame. - **Specific adjacent currents** — Christian classical education ([[David Goodwin]] / [[Joshua Abbotoy]]), [[Christian Network State]] (the Trad / Theobro political-economy variant), [[Quiverfull]] (the demographic-mechanism variant) — all share dominionist premises while specializing in particular dimensions. ## How Dominionism Differs from Dispensationalism The single most clarifying contrast in contemporary US religious-right politics is the dominionism / dispensationalism divide. Both want Christians in power, but they want it for completely different reasons and on completely different timetables. | Dimension | Dominionism (Reconstructionism + NAR) | Dispensationalism (Christian Zionism + Left Behind / older Religious Right) | |---|---|---| | **Eschatology** | Postmillennial — kingdom comes *before* Christ returns | Premillennial — kingdom comes *after* Christ returns | | **Trajectory of history** | The world will be Christianized by the church's faithful work | The world will get worse until the Rapture | | **Project orientation** | Build comprehensive Christian civilization | Rescue souls before the end; defend Christian institutions | | **Time horizon** | Multi-generational; "we are building for our great-great-grandchildren" | Imminent; this generation may experience the Rapture | | **Israel policy** | Mixed — some Reconstructionists adopt "supersessionist" views; NAR is increasingly pro-Israel via prophetic-fulfillment framing | Central — modern Israel is the prophetic engine; uncritical pro-Israel posture is theologically required | | **Engagement with secular politics** | Comprehensive — every sphere is an arena for Christian governance | Crisis-driven — engage to defend specific Christian causes | | **Demographic strategy** | Quiverfull / large families / homeschooling — multi-generational kingdom-building | Less central — soul-saving is more urgent than demographic accumulation | | **View of the Constitution / liberal democracy** | Aberration to be replaced — explicit theocratic reconstruction | Defended as the protective framework that allows Christian liberty until the Rapture | **The active fight inside the contemporary religious right is between these two camps.** The dispensational old guard (Falwell-Robertson [[Christian Coalition]] / CUFI / Liberty University / older Trump Evangelical Advisory Board figures) is being challenged and increasingly displaced by the postmillennial dominionist insurgency (Reconstructionist [[Theobros]] + NAR Seven Mountains figures). Trump himself is generationally and institutionally linked to the dispensational coalition through [[Robert Jeffress]], Paula White, [[Franklin Graham]], and the older evangelical megachurch base — but the *intellectual energy* and *young-pastor talent pipeline* of the contemporary movement is overwhelmingly on the dominionist side. For full comparative analysis, see [[Christian Eschatology]]. ## The Contemporary Convergence Despite the historical Reformed-vs.-charismatic mutual distrust, **post-2016 Trump-era politics has produced unprecedented convergence between Reconstructionist and NAR strands**: - **Shared Trump support.** Both wings supported Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024 despite his conspicuous lack of personal Christian piety — for both, Trump was the [[Cyrus Prophecy]] figure, a flawed instrument God uses for kingdom purposes. - **Shared opponents.** "Wokeness," "the regime," "the Cathedral," "drag queens," "globalism" — both wings deploy a substantially overlapping vocabulary of cultural enemies, even when the theological premises differ. - **Shared institutions.** [[Council for National Policy]], the [[National Conservatism]] conference (NatCon), [[Project 2025]] contributors, the [[Trump Evangelical Advisory Board]] — all host figures from both wings without significant friction. - **Shared politicians.** [[Mike Johnson]], [[Russell Vought]], [[Pete Hegseth]] move comfortably between Reconstructionist-adjacent (Reformed Baptist or PCA) and NAR-adjacent (charismatic-influenced) circles. - **Shared media.** [[Tucker Carlson]]'s broadcasts host both wings; [[Charlie Kirk]]'s TPUSA Faith hosts both wings; the [[Andrew Isker]]–Wilson-Wallnau podcast circuit moves freely across the line. The convergence does **not** dissolve the underlying theological differences but produces an **operational alliance** in which both wings support Christian-Nationalist political projects while maintaining their distinctive doctrinal subcultures. This alliance is one of the most underappreciated features of the post-2020 religious right — and is the principal organizational expression of contemporary dominionism. ## Critiques ### From Within Christianity The vast majority of Christian theological traditions — Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, mainline Protestant, much of the historic Reformed tradition, Anabaptist, and evangelical "two-kingdoms" theologians — reject dominionism. The critiques typically converge on: - **Misreading of the dominion mandate** (Genesis 1:28 is not a political program for governments) - **Misreading of the Great Commission** (making disciples is not equivalent to capturing institutions) - **Misreading of New Testament political theology** (Romans 13, the Gospels' rejection of zealot insurgency, the Sermon on the Mount) - **Confusion of ecclesial authority with civil authority** (the historic Augustinian "two cities" framework) - **Failure of historical witness** (the Constantinian, medieval, and post-Reformation Christian-state experiments are widely judged as theologically and pastorally disastrous) ### From Secular Critics Sara Diamond, Frederick Clarkson, Chip Berlet, Anthea Butler, Katherine Stewart (*The Power Worshippers*, 2019; *The Money Behind the Madness*, 2025), and Diana Butler Bass have produced sustained academic and journalistic critique of dominionism as a **theocratic political project incompatible with constitutional democracy**. The critique has been amplified post-2020 by religion journalists at *Religion Dispatches*, *Religion News Service*, *[[Christianity Today]]* (in its more critical mode), and the *Baptist News Global* network. ### From Within the Religious Right A significant minority of evangelical and Reformed voices reject dominionism *from the right*: the **two-kingdoms** Reformed school (David VanDrunen, Westminster Seminary California), traditional dispensationalists who reject postmillennial kingdom-building, and a substantial cohort of evangelical pastors ([[Russell Moore]], [[Tim Keller]] in his lifetime, [[David French]]) who view dominionism as theologically distorted and politically destructive to Christian witness. This internal religious-right critique is increasingly visible post-2020 as the dominionist wing has captured more institutional power. ## See Also - [[Christian Reconstructionism]] — hard-dominionism Reformed variant - [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — soft-dominionism charismatic variant - [[Seven Mountain Mandate]] — NAR's signature dominion-of-spheres program - [[Theonomy]] — Reconstructionism's signature legal-application doctrine - [[Christian Eschatology]] — comparative analysis of postmillennial vs premillennial vs amillennial frameworks - [[Dispensationalism]] — the primary alternative eschatology on the religious right - [[Christian Zionism]] — the most consequential dispensational political project; dominionism's eschatological "other" - [[Christian Nationalism]] — the broader political project that dominionism supplies the theological infrastructure for - [[Christian Network State]] — Theobro / [[Joshua Abbotoy]] / [[Nate Fischer]] [[Christian Network State]] - [[Quiverfull]] — the demographic mechanism preferred by the dominionist wing - [[Theobros]] — contemporary online young Reformed dominionist insurgency - [[Catholic Post-Liberalism]] / [[Integralism]] — Catholic counterparts - [[R.J. Rushdoony]], [[Gary North]], [[Greg Bahnsen]], [[Douglas Wilson]] — Reconstructionist principals - [[C. Peter Wagner]], [[Lance Wallnau]], [[Cindy Jacobs]], [[Chuck Pierce]], [[Dutch Sheets]], [[Bill Johnson]], [[Mike Bickle]] — NAR principals - [[Council for National Policy]], [[Family Research Council]] — institutional convergence venues - [[Mike Johnson]], [[Russell Vought]], [[Pete Hegseth]] — dominionism-adjacent senior political figures - [[Spiritual Warfare]] — the vocabulary that transforms dominionist political action into cosmic battle - [[The Remnant]] — the self-identification vocabulary for the faithful minority doing dominionist work ## TODO / Stub Candidates - **People**: Sara Diamond (sociologist who coined the analytic category), Frederick Clarkson (PRA), Chip Berlet, Katherine Stewart (*Power Worshippers* author), Anthea Butler, Joseph Morecraft (Reconstructionist pastor), Andrew Sandlin (Center for Cultural Leadership), Gary DeMar (American Vision), Loren Cunningham (Youth With A Mission; co-originator of seven-mountains vision), Bill Bright (Campus Crusade; co-originator), David VanDrunen (two-kingdoms critic from the Reformed right), Russell Moore (evangelical critic), Diana Butler Bass (critic from mainline Protestant tradition) - **Organizations**: Chalcedon Foundation, American Vision, Center for Cultural Leadership, Political Research Associates (PRA), Westminster Seminary California (two-kingdoms anchor) - **Works**: Sara Diamond's *Spiritual Warfare* (1989) and *Roads to Dominion* (1995), Frederick Clarkson's *Eternal Hostility* (1997), Katherine Stewart's *The Power Worshippers* (2019) and *The Money Behind the Madness* (2025)