A pro-Trump activist is raising money to install a giant Christian cross on the moon
Justin Park's "Cross on the Moon Coalition" says the lunar surface needs to be sanctified. It doesn't.
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Are you worried about the threat of Christian Nationalism? Do you support separation of church and state? Well, you need to think much, much bigger. Because a pro-Trump Catholic has made it his mission to put a giant cross… on the moon.
The “Cross on the Moon Coalition,” led by Iowan Justin Park, aims to plant the religious symbol on the lunar surface by the end of the decade. As if there wasn’t enough junk in space already. The goal? To “consecrate the heavens and remind humanity that God is the King of the universe.”
According to Talking Points Memo, this isn’t just a random whim from a random guy. He’s been working on this for a while, even creating animations showing what this would look like:
Park explained in an interview with the Davenport, Iowa-based Catholic Messenger that this was part of a plan to get in front of the future:
“It’s kind of a culmination of the skills that God’s given me, and the vision,” Park said. “Most people don’t think about space every day, but I do. … I read the Gospel as much as I can, but I also read a whole lot of space news … (I) think that we’re going to be living in space, within a generation or two, and we definitely want to get out in front of this and lead with our virtues and our values, and that really starts with Jesus Christ … Putting a cross on the moon kind of sanctifies the lunar surface, and it’s our best foot forward … and hopefully we’ll create a culture based on Biblical teachings.”
Because the problem with the moon is that there’s not enough bigotry and threats of damnation. Lovely.
TPM reporter Hunter Walker adds that there’s already a connection to Trump (because of course there is) involving the Freedom 250 “America Prays” coalition:
“America Prays” also features an extensive list of “partners” that includes major right-wing Christian groups, individual churches, religious media companies, the “influencers” Jack Posobiec, Alex Bruesewitz, and “DC Draino,” and the “Cross on the Moon Coalition.”
…
I also asked Park about the political aspect of his coalition. He told me that the group is “definitely aligned with Trump’s efforts to bring more prayer to America.”
“I have volunteered at multiple Freedom 250 events and applaud his participation in honoring our Savior Jesus Christ,” Park wrote.
What about the money? Oh, they have plenty of money.
Park said he hopes the Moon Cross can hitch a ride on a commercial spaceflight craft. He knows that will cost well over a million dollars and, as of last month, Park told the Catholic Messenger the coalition had “raised about a quarter of a million.” But Park has a plan for how to get the rest of the cash.
“The idea is really to find a big space advocate who hasn’t found the Lord yet. Ideally, we would want to convert someone like Elon Musk. The world would just be a whole lot better if we could, evangelize Musk and then make him into an evangelist,” Park told the Messenger.
Earlier this week, I emailed Park to see how all of that is going. He told me they “are actively fund-raising and working towards evangelizing the tech community.”
Imagine thinking the world would be better if the wealthiest man in the world, who has helped murder countless people around the world when he’s not dabbling in fascism, became a religious zealot.
In any case, no one needs the cross on the moon because it would serve no useful purpose. The website claims the Moon Cross would be useful because it’s “the ultimate unifying symbol of grace and glory, sanctifies the lunar surface.” But if Christianity is known for anything these days, it’s for dividing and harming people. That cross represents bigotry, oppression, and political cover for the most corrupt people in the country. The only people who think it’s unifying are the ones tearing the country apart.
Even beyond that, how limited must your imagination be to reach another surface in the solar system and think that it would be best served by imposing your specific beliefs? Space exploration, at its best, has always been defined by people around the world setting aside their political and cultural differences and working together toward a larger goal. To declare that one religion should rule over outer space is just comically idiotic.
That same debate, by the way, came up when we wanted to put an American flag on the moon because who owns the moon?! Also, even though there are U.S. flags up there, they’re purely symbolic in the sense that even NASA isn’t suggesting America has a right to that space. What Parks wants is much more all-encompassing.
And, of course, if any other religion even considered doing something like this, Christians would loudly whine about how space doesn’t belong to any one group. The rules never seem to apply to them.
If the Cross was ever put on the lunar surface, it likely wouldn’t last very long. It might degrade, at the very least. And that might be the most symbolic aspect of this. Even when left alone, Christianity gets worse over time.
Incidentally, we have a version of this conversation whenever Christians spend roughly a quarter-million dollars to erect a Giant Christian Cross in rural areas. It’s a lot of money that accomplishes nothing of value because the people who share Park’s version of faith have no real desire to help anyone on this planet with the resources they’ve accumulated. Instead, they want to find new places to ruin with their eyesores. And they intend to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to make it happen.
If wealthy Christians want to make a difference, there are plenty of homeless families to house, hungry children to feed, refugees to help, diseases to fight, and schools to support. Elon Musk could help undo the damage he caused with DOGE. But they won’t because they would rather advertise their faith than practice it.
If and when we land on the moon—or anywhere else outside our planet—in the future, we should be focused on conducting science and testing new technologies. We should have discussions about what a permanent presence beyond Earth might look like. Those endeavors could expand knowledge and inspire future generations.
But Park and his allies don’t think like that. They see empty space and immediately jump to the possibility of religious branding. There’s nothing visionary about that.
The arrogance is appalling. The moon doesn’t need to be sanctified. It doesn’t belong to Christians or Americans or anyone else. It’s part of humanity’s shared heritage. That’s why a symbol that billions of people either reject or have been harmed by isn’t some universal symbol of hope. It’s a sign that we can never escape the religious zealots in our midst.
Perhaps the Catholic Park should spend the money on paying restitution to all of the survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of his clergy.
No Justin, the rest of us don’t want to live in space (or in your demented idea of an afterlife). We like it here on earth, and that’s why we wish to take care of it.