Fitch and Holsclaw (1b) Post-Positional

The second post- in the first signpost is Post-Positional.

Fitch and Holsclaw say that Christendom lasted for a long time in the United States, and that gave the church a position of influence, which is now disappearing. I am not sure about this. The church in the US did not have a position of power like the Christendom churches of Western Europe. The constitutional separation of church and state prevented. There are no bishops in the United States crowning presidents and senators. The influential presidents of the twentieth century, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman Eisenhower, Kennedy Nixon, went to church occasionally, but they were political men driven by political realities, not controlled by the church.

The influence of the church in the United States mostly came from having the numbers. When 35 percent of the population are Christians, politicians have to take notice of their concerns, especially when many of them are middle class and know how to get their views heard. The problem in America is not loss of position, but loss of numbers. Evangelical Christians are now a small minority that can be ignored by the politicians.

The Bush presidency confirmed this for most Americans, when the Christian Right swung the election for him. They woke up and thought, these people are not like us. We do need to let this small ugly minority control us. We are out of there.

That said, Fitch and Holsclaw are right about the current situation. We do not have a position of authority in society.
People can choose to ignore us. Many already are, and more will.