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The Church of Jesus Christ–Christian is an American Christian Identity, white supremacist church, which was founded in 1946 by Ku Klux Klan organizer [citation needed] Wesley A. Swift in Lancaster, California. Swift was the son of a Methodist Episcopal Church, South minister and is considered a significant figure in the early years of the Christian Identity movement in the United States.[1] Swift's work and copyrights are carried on by Kingdom Identity Ministries.
History edit
The church was originally known as the Anglo-Saxon Christian Congregation in Lancaster, California, assuming its present name in 1957.[2] The hyphenated name was used to express the belief that Jesus was not a Jew.[3]
After Wesley Swift's death in 1970, the ministry was continued by his wife Lorraine Swift. Roy Gillaspie and Arnold Murray were in leadership positions between 1950 and the 1970s.[4]
In February 2001, the names Church of Jesus Christ–Christian and Aryan Nations were transferred to Victoria and Jason Keenan when the Keenans won a US $6.3 million lawsuit against the organizations after being attacked by Aryan Nations paramilitary soldiers; the Aryan Nations compound was also transferred to the Keenans.[5] In March 2001, the Keenans sold the compound to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Carr Foundation, a human rights organization which plans to build a human rights center on the property.[6]
The church resurfaced in August 2009, five years after the death of Richard Butler, who resumed the ministry after the death of Swift.[citation needed] The church is now headed by a council of three men, including Senior Pastor Paul R. Mullet.[7]
References edit
- ^ "Christian Identity". Anti-Defamation League. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ Bochicchio, Ana (5 October 2021). "Justification by Race: Wesley Swift's White Supremacy and Anti-Semitic Theological Views in His Christian Identity Sermons". Journal of Hate Studies. 17 (1): 38. doi:10.33972/jhs.183. hdl:11336/145441. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ Barkun, Michael (1997). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. UNC Press Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8078-4638-4.
- ^ "A popular Arkansas televangelist says his theology about the 'Kenites' is not anti-Semitic. The evidence suggests otherwise". Southern Poverty Law Center. May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
- ^ "Attorney Morris Dees pioneer in using 'damage litigation' to fight hate groups". CNN. 2000-09-08. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (2004-09-09). "Richard G. Butler, 86, Dies; Founder of the Aryan Nations". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ Warren, Alecia (February 25, 2010). "Human rights by example". Coeur d'Alene Press.