I’ve always believed that any politician who uses their faith in God as a campaign tactic should have a bucket of fresh cow manure poured over their heads. There’s something particularly disingenuous, if not outright hypocritical, about sucking votes for secular power while crowing about how religious you are. And their definition of religiosity is open to critical opinion.

Apparently being a good family man who goes to church regularly comes to mind, but so does the fact that many in the top German Nazi hierarchy fit that description as well. Minister of Propaganda (and Steve Bannon doppelganger) Joseph Goebbels was such a celebrated family man that he poisoned his wife and children to death as the war came to an end.

It’s no secret that Donald Trump is courting the Christian right, and he recently terrified those Americans who still respect our democracy that once these believers elected him, they “won’t have to vote anymore.” Trump, of course, would not be my ideal example of Christian values, seeing that his idea of being one, as evidenced in his recent term, was to tear-gas peaceful demonstrators so he could stand in front of a church holding a Bible upside down, an act so outrageous that the minister of that church condemned him.

The hands-down winner of the title as a true Christian former president is Jimmy Carter, who has spent the past decades building homes for Habitat for Humanity. Trump would evict their residents and bulldoze the houses for a golf course. In fact, I admire and respect actual Christians who instead of worshiping the messenger, prefer to live his message. In short, like Carter, they believe in generous deeds instead of empty words.

I suspect that the United States is the only First World nation where politicians have to kowtow to a pack of religious extremists who use their supposed faith as a weapon to invade and destroy the rights of others. In Western Europe and Australia, nobody gives a hoot how holy their leaders are, as long as they can keep the country together and functioning. And stay out of their bedrooms.

The phrases “traditional values” and “family values” have always been conservative code words to excuse oppression and subjugation. Traditionally, conservatives were fine with Black people being kept in slavery, women denied the vote (something J.D. Vance’s former mentor Peter Thiel heartily favors), and gay men and women criminalized.

Pastors allied with the “Christian” nationalist movement have openly declared that giving women the right to vote was a mistake and, if they must, it should be at the discretion of their husbands. Recently, such “family values” pols in Congress have voted against the child tax credit and paid family leave while cutting funds for school lunches so they could give their billionaire donors a hefty tax break.

Far-right evangelicals have openly stated that their agenda is to “drive ‘woke-ism’ out of the churches,” which means driving Jesus out of their churches. Unless I read the New Testament incorrectly, I thought that Jesus of Nazareth preached love, comfort, forgiveness, tolerance and welcoming the stranger into your midst. These were unbelievably radical notions in the harsh, brutal world of 35 A.D. Apparently, in some sectors of America, they still are.

If I come down hard on the Christian right, it’s because as a Jew and a free-thinking individual, whenever this gang starts to flex their muscles, people like me get burned at the stake. Plus, their medieval attitudes aren’t much different than that of the Taliban or ISIS. It’s good to see that Vance got his head handed to him for his incredibly dumb comments that childless women should be taxed higher while being denied their voting rights.

On closer observation, all traditional religions have the same three basic credos. For one, there is a higher power than you running the show. Secondly, contribute positively to your community, and lastly, don’t be a jerk. Everything else is just advertising, fairy tales and hogwash.

If Jesus during his ministry had any condemnation to express, it was reserved, not for gays, women or immigrants, but for the Pharisees, religious conservative fundamentalists who oppressed others under a facade of piety. They are the direct ancestors of the “Christian” right.

While I’m sure God couldn’t care less about American politics, if it could co-opt the national airwaves for a few seconds, its message would echo that of potential vice president, Gov. Tim Walz, and shout down from the heavens, “Mind your own damn business!”

Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for 44 years and has written a monthly My Turn column for over two decades. He lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa and dog, Cody.