In a recent Ted Talk, Dr Catherine Wallace from Northwestern University condemned the rise of hard-Right Christian fundamentalism, calling the movement a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
Wallace - a Catholic herself - said: "My religion has been hijacked and used to attack innocent people. The Religious Right claims to represent the moral high ground in American culture, but look at what they advocate: racism, sexism, and hate mongering xeonophobia. That's dangerous and it is not Christianity."
Wallace claimed that far-right Christian fundamentalism could be observed through Donald Trump's rise to power in this election. She argued that Trump's campaign was the culmination of the religious-right's long and dangerous influence upon American politics. Wallace concluded that this was more dangerous than Islamic terrorism because Christian fundamentalists already have great power and influence in the US.
She said: ""If [Islamic terrorists] want to blow up a concert, they need to put bombs on their own children and send young men in to kill themselves."
"[The] kind of radicalism [Christian fundamentalism] in control of nuclear codes was a much, much greater threat."
In order to combat fundamentalism - across all religions - Wallace concluded that we must embrace our diversity. She said: "We can more easily collaborate if believers and nonbelievers alike share a compelling story about moral values that we hold in common."
Wallace is the author of a series of books about Christian fundamentalism and historian.