The Idaho GOP’s Unholy Alliance with Christian Nationalists
Over the past year, the leadership of Idaho’s Republican Party has taken a hard turn toward Christian Nationalism. Guided by state party chair Dorothy Moon, the new Idaho GOP has aligned itself with far-right religious activists like Doug Wilson, the Idaho Family Policy Center (IFPC), and the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF).
Working in concert, these groups are advancing a narrow vision for Idaho’s future—one that poses a serious threat to religious freedom. Under the banner of “conservatism,” they seek to impose a strict interpretation of faith on all Idahoans, regardless of individual beliefs or traditions.
During the last general election, Moon’s new Idaho GOP endorsed and shared a video message from the outspoken Christian Nationalist leader, Doug Wilson, that spun false narratives around Proposition 1 - open primaries and rank choice voting. The sharing of Wilson’s video on the Idaho GOP’s official social media channels shocked many Idaho Republicans who valued the founding father’s intent to separate church and state.
Moon and her allies wanted to keep power at all costs. They knew that if more reasonable people voted, they couldn’t use the system to help their loyal candidates win elections. They spread Wilson’s false narratives, claiming Prop 1 was a secret plot to help “liberals” take over Idaho.
The Democrats in Colorado defeated a similar ranked-choice voting initiative on election day, proving that this had nothing to do with ideology and everything to do with the party that held power fighting to keep control. Alaskans voted to keep the RCV system that Idaho’s Prop. 1 was based on, breaking the narrative Moon and Wilson spread. Voters listened to Moon and Wilson, opting to vote against the initiative on election day.
Over the past few election cycles, the IFF worked alongside Moon and used its political machine to increase the loyal candidates they controlled in the legislature. As their numbers grew, they allied with the IFPC to pressure lawmakers to back culture war bills. Legislation that, as a former libertarian group, they’d normally avoid. With their new alignment with IFPC, they hinted that any lawmaker who didn’t go along with these bills was not a “real” Christian. This dishonest tactic worked, and many Republican legislators voted for horrible IFPC/IFF-backed bills to avoid false religious labeling.
What’s worse is that the leadership of the IFPC has shown they do not believe that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) are real Christians.
What does this mean for Idaho? If the Idaho Family Policy Center succeeds, public schools could be forced to read the Bible in class. An “opt-out” option might exist, but it would still isolate anyone who refuses to follow IFPC’s religious views, deepening social divisions and forcing parents to have their children be subjected to bullying for not going along with the Christian Nationalist agenda.
While I along with most Idahoans support reasonable pro-life measures, the abolitionists will push for abortion to be banned in every case, even if a mother’s life is in danger. Doctors are already afraid to treat emergencies like ectopic pregnancies, fearing legal repercussions, which puts women’s lives in jeopardy.
If the IFPC continues to bully its way into the capital, thirteen-year-old girls could be charged with crimes for attempting to travel to another state to abort a baby conceived through rape by a close male family member.
Religious freedom would likely suffer under the influence of the IFPC. Members of the LDS church (historically referred to as “Mormons”) and other faiths that don’t align with IFPC’s narrow definition of Christianity risk becoming outsiders in their own state.
Mormons have long been respected members of Idaho’s communities. Many have served in public office, farmed the land, and led local businesses. But now, the Idaho GOP’s new leadership is leaning into alliances with people who see the LDS Church as a heretical threat to Christianity.
“I would want to regard Mormonism as a particular religion, not a cult, simply on the basis of age and size. It is a religion that hived off from orthodox Christianity, but of course, that is also what Islam did — Christian heresies can veer off into cul de sac cults, or they can grow big and become regular religions, like Islam, Marxism, and American Idol.” - Doug Wilson
The story of America and the LDS church has a long history together. When Mormons started settling in Dorothy Moon’s home state of Missouri, theologically driven political groups worked hard to drive them out. In 1838, the Governor of Missouri signed what was known as the “Extermination Order,” which was a mass deportation order stating that Mormons must be forcibly removed from the state or face execution. That law was not repealed until 20 years after Moon was born.
As Mormons migrated west into the Idaho territory and settled throughout the southern and eastern parts of the state, they faced renewed discrimination aimed at suppressing their god-given rights and freedom.
Fifty-one years later, the Idaho territorial government passed a law that required those running for office to take the “Idaho Test Oath.” The goal was to exclude members of the LDS community who did not pass the test from holding office and weaken their political power. That law was not repealed until 1982.
This demonstrates that, given a chance, “conservative” groups in power won’t hesitate to target the LDS community and other religious minorities. By allying with the IFPC and the IFF, the Idaho GOP risks creating an environment where LDS voters and lawmakers might once again be treated like second-class citizens. When Wilson compairs Mormonism to “Marxism” and the IFF’s stated mission is to defeat Marxism, it makes sense they’d be aligned.
Last year, we saw this history repeat as the IFPC’s strict theological narratives were used in a tribunal setting to censure LDS legislators in East Idaho by an Idaho GOP legislative district chairman who is also an IFF board member.
There have even been a few IFF-backed legislators who have publicly posted how they wished we could go back to the late 1800s… an era when they could use firearms to enforce theocratic authoritarianism.
Idaho should learn from the past, not actively seek to repeat it.
Those who seek power and control through religious enforcement will not stop. Moon’s new Idaho GOP, Doug Wilson, the Idaho Freedom Foundation, and the Idaho Family Policy Center are pushing for more extreme legislation aligned with Christian Nationalist principles. This next legislative session will be filled with “culture war” bills, and this unholy alliance between these so-called conservative groups will waste taxpayer resources pushing solutions in search of problems that they made up.
We must not allow the warped Christian nationalist ideology to influence legislation that may harm all Idahoans who are not part of their cult-like group. It’s un-American and goes directly against what our founding fathers wanted for our nation.
There is no freedom when religion is mandated through unjust laws by tyrants who seek to control us.
If you want to learn more about Christian Nationalism and Doug Wilson, listen to Extremely American by Heath Druzin.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican whose articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. Graf and his family moved to Idaho Falls in 2013 from Utah and currently reside in Star.
Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
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