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Onward christian soldiers chapter 1
- 1. Chapter 1 The ChristianRight in Context Onward Christian Soldiers? The Religious Right in American Politics
- 2. Introduction In thewake of Christian Right activism there has been a growing unease over the mixing of religion and politics. A national survey in 2008 revealed that the majority of Americans (52 percent) believe that churches and religious institutions should “keep out” of politics.
- 3. What is theChristian Right? The Christian Right is a social movement that attempts to mobilize evangelical Protestants and other orthodox Christians into conservative political action. The movement is concentrated primarily among white evangelical Christians, and especially among the fundamentalist and pentecostal wings of evangelicalism.
- 4. As a SocialMovement Like all social movements, the Christian Right is composed of social movement organizations, leaders, activists, and members, and it seeks to attract support from a broad potential constituency.
- 5. Objections within theChristian Right Many leaders of the movement object to the term “Christian Right” which they believe depicts a narrow movement. Others object to the term on the grounds that labeling the movement as part of the “Right” implies that it is outside the political mainstream. Many liberals believe that Christian Right policies would harm families.
- 6. Organizations of theChristian Right Focus on Family The Family Research Council ConcernedWomen for America The Christian Coalition Social conservatives of other faiths Social conservatives of other races
- 7. The Christian Rightas a Movement Social movements are decentralized, differentiated, and sometimes disorganized. The Christian Right has no single agenda, but rather a collection of overlapping agendas. No one organization or spokesperson represents the movement because of the different goals and activities of its members.
- 8. Institutionalization As hasbeen the case with other social movements, some elements of the Christian Right have become institutionalized. Part of the institutionalization process involves training leaders, and even members, in the rules and norms of political action. In general, organizational leaders have sought to distance the group from activists who make extremist statements in public.
- 9. The GOP Whereassome movement activists have worked to institutionalize interest groups of the Christian Right, others have been involved primarily within the Republican Party and now constitute a major faction of the GOP. Although movement leaders will sometimes insist for tax purposes that theirs is a nonpartisan movement, it is clear that the Christian Right is active almost exclusively in the GOP.
- 10. As a PartyFaction As a party faction, the Christian Right contends with moderates for control of nominations; control in turn leads to access to campaign resources and the party platform. However the Christian Right refuses to be taken for granted and uses its leverage as an established voting bloc to move the party’s platform to the right on social policy.
- 11. The Controversy Isthe Christian Right good or bad for America??? The Christian Right is controversial for several reasons: Its central social agenda includes issues that are among the most heated inAmerican politics. Agenda issues of abortion, gay rights, and education fuel great enthusiasm. Some citizens object to the general effort to mobilize conservative Christians into political action. The heated rhetoric of the movement’s leaders.
- 12. Fundraising Christian Rightactivists argue, quite correctly, that all organizations that raise money through direct mail seek to demonize their political opponents. Liberal groups make fund-raising appeals that caricature Christian conservatives. Christian Right rhetorical appeals may be no more extreme than those of their political opponents, but they make many citizens uneasy.
- 13. Christian Right Beliefs Supporters of the Christian Right believe it is an attempt to restore Judeo-Christian values to a country that is in deep moral decline. Supporters seek to write laws that embody those values. Christian conservatives want stronger families, safety from crime, successful schools, and democracy.
- 14. Opposition Critics ofthe movement charge that the Christian Right is an intolerant movement seeking to impose a narrow, sectarian morality onAmerica. ManyAmericans fear the Christian Right because they see some movement activists issuing harsh condemnations of Americans whose lifestyles differ from those espoused by conservative Christians.
- 15. The First Amendmentand Church and State The debate about the role of the Christian Right in America takes place within a larger debate about the role of religion in American politics. At stake are two competing visions for American democracy: One holds that the United States is a Christian nation specially blessed by God. The other maintains that the country should be officially secular, with a strong separation between church and state.
- 16. The First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Establishment Clause The Free Exercise Clause
- 17. Positions Taken onthe Clauses Accomodationists believe that the Constitution merely prohibits the establishment of a national religion. Separationists emphasize the potential of religion to lead to violent conflict. Conservatives frequently portray separationists as hostile to religion.
- 18. Free Exercise Clause There are two basic positions on the free exercise clause. One would allow all kinds of religious activities so long as no one is harmed. The other would limit such activities to those within some broadly defined community consensus.
- 19. Christian Preferentialists ChristianPreferentialists want a public role for Christian symbols and practices, but resist the notion of non-Christian groups having equal access to public support. Religious nonpreferentialism holds that all religious groups have a place in the public square.
- 20. Religion and Politicsin America America is remarkable for both its religious diversity and the strength of it religious institutions. America is a religiously diverse country in which religious belief and practice are unusually common. Underlying the diversity ofAmerican religion is a more general support for its basic civil religion.
- 21. Civil Religion ManyChristian Right activists believe that the president has a unique role to play as moral as well as political leader of the nation. Civil religion provides an undercurrent of unity beneath the choppy waters of religious diversity. Although mostAmericans expect their political leaders to express religious sentiments, the public is more deeply divided about whether preachers and churches should be involved in politics.
- 22. A Culture War? Many Christian Right activists and some social scientists see America engaged in a culture war between highly religious citizens and secular citizens. Yet the idea of a culture war oversimplifies the dimensions of conflict over social and moral issues.