A not insignificant number of students and faculty on the campus I serve think that “The Handmaids Tale” is exactly what happens when Christian principles inform a society.
In actuality of course a REAL manifestation of Christian principles informing a society would be 800-1900 Europe and the United States
Both were and are highly NON-perfect places
BUT as Chesterton said: “Those countries in Europe which are still influenced by priests are exactly the countries where there is still singing and dancing and coloured dresses and art in the open-air. Catholic doctrine may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground.”
It is important to say here that no sane Christian should EVER let their guard down against the possibility that Christian principles CAN be misconstrued to produce dystopia. A healthy approach to governance requires a constant vigilance by a concerned and principled citizenry. We do not believe that if we get the right foundational principles in place, then we can all just stop worrying about our governance
But those who fear a Christian dystopia do not seem to ever confront or acknowledge that the places that have driven Christianity out over the last 1500 years have all been nightmarish hells-on-Earth
So for those who think "The Handmaids Tale" is some work of prophecy, what is feared is a FICTIONAL future unlike anything that has ACTUALLY happened in 2,000 years of Christian societies, while what is ACTUALLY happening now (and what has ACTUALLY happened in the past) in the places where Christianity has been expelled are either
1) ignored or
2) aren't actually known
And it is a terrifying realization that either 1 or 2 above is possible for educated people in our own day
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