A Christian Identity church advocating white supremacy and anti-Semitic beliefs.
Religion: Christian Identity
Founded: 1982
Location: Harrison, Arkansas
Kingdom Identity Ministries (KIM) is a controversial Christian Identity group that emerged in the early 1980s in Harrison, Arkansas. Founded by Mike Hallimore, KIM is recognized for its extreme views, promoting white supremacy, antisemitism, and homophobia. The group asserts that white, European peoples are God’s chosen race, referring to them as the “true Israel,” and it operates primarily as a publisher and distributor of Christian Identity literature.
Kingdom Identity Ministries diverges from mainstream Christianity in several key aspects. One of the central tenets of their belief system is British Israelism, the idea that the British and their descendants in America are the true Israelites mentioned in the Bible. This interpretation leads to a racialized understanding of scripture, where salvation and God’s favor are exclusively reserved for those of white descent. Additionally, they hold anti-Semitic views, often casting Jewish people as the imposters of true Israelite heritage and as adversaries in a cosmic spiritual battle. They also promote conspiracy theories about Jewish control of world affairs, and call for the establishment of a white ethno-state.
KIM distributes a wide range of materials, including books, tracts, and audiotapes, that support its ideologies. It also offers correspondence courses through its American Institute of Theology and produces the Herald of Truth radio program, broadcasted via shortwave, satellite, and the internet. While the organization claims to focus on religious outreach, KIM’s teachings explicitly endorse racism, including promoting segregation and racial purity.
The group has been particularly influential in the Christian Identity movement, a theology that interprets Christianity through a white supremacist lens. This movement, reaching its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, has been linked to various acts of violence and terrorism, including connections to the infamous Aryan Nations and The Order, as well as indirect ties to Timothy McVeigh’s Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
KIM received a significant boost in the early 1980s when it inherited the copyrights to the works of Bertrand Comparet and Wesley Swift, key figures in the Christian Identity movement, making KIM a major publisher of Christian Identity literature. Mike Hallimore, the group’s founder, also maintained close ties with members of prison gangs and extremist groups, advocating for views that promote racial hatred and violence.
Despite the declining membership in traditional Christian Identity congregations since the 1990s, KIM continues to operate, adapting to the digital age by promoting its views online and through social media. The Southern Poverty Law Center designates it as a hate group due to its extremist ideologies and activities.
image via SPLC
