The Fellowship/The Family/The Christian Mafia

Doonesbury this past week cast some light on a troubling "Christian" organization operating out of Virginia and Washington, DC--an organization that quietly, even furtively, recruits the powerful in government and business, both in the US and around the world. They call themselves "The Fellowship," or more informally, "The Family," and their leader, a man named Doug Coe, has sometimes referred to them as the "Christian Mafia." And no, I'm not making this up. I am not kidding.

[To see last weeks Doonesbury strips, click here at The Daily Dose (Slate). Just scroll down to the strip and click on "previous" until you get back to last Monday's strip. And just under the strip, you can read a cute quote from Doug Coe.]

Over a period of decades The Fellowship have recruited and cultivated close relationships with many in government, primarily Republicans, including a considerable list of household names, including presidents--ostensibly to provide conservative Christian influence and mutual support in their leadership roles. However, what from one view could appear a good influence and helpful support organization, from another can more soberly be seen as a co-opting quasi-religious/political organization trafficking in power and influence. And the more you look into them, the more they appear to resemble the latter. And, in turn, the more you can be unnerved by the lack of transparency, understanding of roles and reciprocities, and accountability of the organization and, by extension, their government "friends."

Recently, there have been a spate of revelations about extra-marital relationships involving at least one senator, a congressmen and a governor. It turns out they all had or soon developed a close relationships with The Family. Quite a number of senators and congressmen have also resided or now reside at The Family's C Street meeting house in DC. And the list of unsavory, disreputable international rogue leaders in relationship with The Family and supported by them over the years is even more troubling. All somehow, inexplicably, part of Coe's approach to, and goal of, a "totalitarianism of God."

Before the Doonesbury strip last week, I knew very little about The Fellowship. I had read an unsettling article about them in Harper's some years ago, but figured it must be an exaggeration; I just forgot about it. It's author, Jeff Sharlet, is a young man who actually spent some time with a Fellowship-run residential youth group in Arlington, Virginia. And he now has a new book out titled, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. And David Kuo, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, has also published a book about The Family titled, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction. I have only read excerpts from and references to these two books, but reviews assure me they are fascinating if unnerving reading.

Scary stuff. And yes, there's more. I would suggest your next stop might be Wikipedia, which you can access directly by clicking here on The Family. Buckle up, pilgrim.