FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrat of the Week” is a mayoral candidate from Tulsa, Okla., who recently appeared at a MAGA pastor’s church and declared that “we need to get back” to a time when public officials were required to be Christian.
Brent VanNorman, a conservative businessman and former pastor, gave a speech in late July at the church of Jackson Lahmeyer, the right-wing, Christian nationalist pastor behind Pastors for Trump. VanNorman is one of the five candidates running to become Tulsa’s mayor in the municipal election set for August 27. VanNorman opened by quoting Proverbs 14, then shockingly said, “My number one qualification for being mayor of Tulsa is that I am an unashamed follower of Jesus.”
VanNorman claimed that during the Revolutionary War, “public officials had to be Christians in many areas and we’ve gone so far away from that and we need to get back.” Fact check: While there was rampant religious persecution and theocratic practices in many of the original colonies, that’s one of the many good reasons why the framers of the U.S. Constitution explicitly adopted a godless document that dictates that there can be no religious test for public office.
VanNorman backpedaled when questioned by the Tulsa World about his theocratic remarks, claiming he was not suggesting that the government needs to be Christian, while perpetuating the myth that you need to be a Christian to be good: “My point would be that I think people that are informed by Christian values make good public servants and they have a servant’s heart.”
Other “greatest hits” from VanNorman’s remarks include arguing that homelessness is “not primarily a housing issue” and spouting off tired anti-trans rhetoric. Notably, VanNorman debased a fellow mayoral candidate during a Q&A session at another local Tulsa church. “If she is mayor, throughout the month of June you are going to see some multi-colored flags lining our city streets, and you won’t if I am mayor,” VanNorman pledged.
Pastor Lahmeyer again hosted VanNorman last week, unlawfully urging his congregation to vote for VanNorman. Lahmeyer reasoned that it would be beneficial to have “someone in that office that is on our team.”
“It would be beneficial,” responds FFRF Action President Annie Laurie Gaylor, “to have candidates and public officials in office who have read our entirely secular Constitution and understand why it is anathema for the government to impose any religious test to qualify for public office. Shame on VanNorman for his bigotry and shame on Pastor Lahmeyer for overtly using his church’s tax-exempt resources to illegally endorse from the pulpit.”
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.