Christian right Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==History== [[File:Jerry Falwell portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jerry Falwell]], whose founding of the [[Moral Majority]] was a key step in the formation of the "New Christian Right"]] In 1863, representatives from eleven Christian denominations in the United States organized the [[National Reform Association (1864)|National Reform Association]]. The organization's goal was to [[Christian amendment|amend]] the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]] to make the country a [[Christian state]]. The National Reform Association is one of the first organizations through which adherents from several Christian denominations worked together in an attempt to enshrine Christianity in American government.<ref name="Boston2010">{{cite book |last1=Boston |first1=Robert |title=Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State |year=2010 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=9781615924103 |page=103 }}</ref> The [[Christian Civic League of Maine]], founded in 1897, and other early organizations of the Christian right supported the aims of the [[temperance movement]].<ref name="RozellGreenJelenWilcox2003"/> Patricia Miller states that the "alliance between evangelical leaders and the Catholic bishops has been a cornerstone of the Christian Right for nearly twenty years".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religiondispatches.org/meet-the-new-christian-right-same-as-the-old-christian-right/|title=Meet the New Christian Right, Same as the Old Christian Right|last=Miller|first=Patricia|date=December 12, 2016|work=[[Religion Dispatches]]|language=en|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203080843/http://religiondispatches.org/meet-the-new-christian-right-same-as-the-old-christian-right/|archive-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the late 1970s, the Christian right has been a notable force in both the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] and American politics when Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell and other Christian leaders began to urge conservative Christians to involve themselves in the political process. President [[Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter's]] backing of the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] led to the development of the Christian right and the embrace of many [[Conservative Christianity|evangelical conservatives]] to Republican Party candidates.<ref>Ellis, Blake A. "An Alternative Politics: Texas Baptists and the Rise of the Christian Right, 1975β1985." ''The Southwestern Historical Quarterly'', vol. 112, no. 4, 2009, pp. 361β86. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/30242432 JSTOR website] Retrieved May 5, 2023.</ref> In response to the rise of the Christian right, the 1980 Republican Party platform assumed a number of its positions, including adding support for a restoration of [[school prayer]]. The past two decades have been an important time in the political debates and in the same time frame religious citizens became more politically active in a time period labeled the New Christian Right.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cook |first1=Kimberly J. |first2=Chris |last2=Powell |title=Christianity and Punitive Mentalities: A Qualitative Study |journal=Crime, Law and Social Change |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=2003 |pages=69β89 |doi=10.1023/A:1022487430900 |s2cid=142654351 }}</ref> While the platform also opposed [[abortion]]<ref name="hartsem" />{{sfn|Williams|2010|pages=1, 2}}<ref name="gop1980">{{Cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25844|title=Republican Party Platforms: Republican Party Platform of 1980|access-date=December 19, 2013|archive-date=December 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219225439/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25844|url-status=dead}}</ref> and leaned towards restricting taxpayer funding for abortions and passing a constitutional amendment which would restore protection of the right to life for unborn children,<ref name="gop1980" /> it also accepted the fact that many Americans, including fellow Republicans, were divided on the issue.<ref name="gop1980" /> Since about 1980, the Christian right has been associated with several institutions including the [[Moral Majority]], the [[Christian Coalition of America|Christian Coalition]], [[Focus on the Family]] and the [[Family Research Council]].<ref name="Himmelstein" /><ref name="Martin1996a" /> While the influence of the Christian right is typically traced to the 1980 Presidential election, Daniel K. Williams argues in ''God's Own Party'' that it had actually been involved in politics for most of the twentieth century. He also notes that the Christian right had previously been in alliance with the Republican Party in the 1940s through 1960s on matters such as opposition to communism and defending "a Protestant-based moral order".<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2010|p=3}}</ref> In light of the [[state atheism]] espoused by communist countries, secularization came to be seen by many Americans as the biggest threat to American and Christian values,<ref>Merriman, Scott A. [https://books.google.com/books?id=l_8VFygyaDYC&pg=PA281 Religion and the Law in America: An Encyclopedia of Personal Belief and Public Policy]. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print. "In 1956, the United States, changed its motto to 'In God We Trust,' in large part to differentiate itself from the Soviet Union, its Cold War enemy that was widely seen as promoting atheism."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2010|p=5}}</ref> and by the 1980s Catholic bishops and evangelicals had begun to work together on issues such as abortion.<ref name = "Catholic"/><ref name = "CC">{{cite book|title=Crisis of Conservatism?: The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, and American Politics After Bush|author1=Joel D. Aberbach |author2=Gillian Peele |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref name = "RCC">{{cite book|title=Catholics and Politics: the Dynamic Tension between Faith and Power|quote=To summarize, in the Republican Party, many Catholic activists held conservative positions on key issues emphasized by Christian Right leaders, and they said that they supported the political activities of some Christian Right candidates.|author1=Kristin E. Heyer |author2=Mark J. Rozell |author3=Michael A. Genovese |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]]}}</ref> The alienation of [[Southern Democrat]]s from the Democratic Party contributed to the rise of the right, as the [[counterculture of the 1960s]] provoked fear of [[social disintegration]]. In addition, as the Democratic Party became identified with a pro-abortion rights position and with nontraditional societal values, [[social conservatism in the United States|social conservatives]] joined the Republican Party in increasing numbers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perlstein |first=Rick | author-link = Rick Perlstein | title=Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America |page=164 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2008 |isbn=978-0743243025|title-link=Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America }}</ref> In 1976, U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] received the support of the Christian right largely because of his much-acclaimed religious conversion. However, Carter's spiritual transformation did not compensate for his liberal policies in the minds of Christian conservatives; according to Jerry Falwell, "Americans have literally stood by and watched as godless, spineless leaders have brought our nation floundering to the brink of death."<ref name=Reinhard /> ===Ability to organize=== [[File:M4l2004.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Demonstrators at the 2004 [[March for Life (Washington, D.C.)|March for Life]] in Washington, D.C.]] The Christian Right has engaged in battles over abortion, [[Christian views on euthanasia|euthanasia]], [[Christian views on birth control|contraception]], [[Opposition to pornography|pornography]], gambling, [[obscenity]], [[Christian nationalism]], [[Sabbatarianism|Sunday Sabbatarianism]] (concerning [[blue law|Sunday blue laws]]), state sanctioned [[school prayer|prayer in public schools]], textbook contents (concerning [[creationism]]), [[LGBT rights opposition|homosexuality]], and [[sexual education]].<ref name="Zubovich2018"/><ref name="Bowers2009"/> The Supreme Court's decision to make abortion a constitutionally protected right in the 1973 ''[[Roe v Wade|Roe v. Wade]]'' ruling was the driving force behind the rise of the Christian Right in the 1970s.<ref name="RozellWilcox1997">{{cite book|last1=Rozell|first1=Mark J.|last2=Wilcox|first2=Clyde|title=God at the Grass Roots, 1996: The Christian Right in the American Elections|year=1997|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780847686117|page=[https://archive.org/details/godatgrassroots10000unse/page/117 117]|quote=Initially, the abortion issue dominated the agenda of conservative Christians. But as political context changed, more issues were included. Euthanasia, the rights of homosexuals, pornography, sex education in schools, charter and home schools, and gambling have become issues of concern to the "pro-family" movement.|url=https://archive.org/details/godatgrassroots10000unse/page/117}}</ref> Changing political context led to the Christian Right's advocacy for other issues, such as opposition to euthanasia and campaigning for [[abstinence-only sex education]].<ref name="RozellWilcox1997"/> [[Ralph Reed]], the chairman of the Christian Coalition, stated that the [[Pat Robertson#Political service and activism|1988 presidential campaign]] of [[Pat Robertson]] was the 'political crucible' that led to the proliferation of Christian Right groups in the United States.<ref name="RozellWilcox1997" /> Randall Balmer, on the other hand, has suggested that the New Christian Right Movement's rise was not centered around the issue of abortion, but rather [[Bob Jones University]]'s refusal to comply with the Supreme Court's 1971 ''[[Coit v. Green|Green v. Connally]]'' ruling that permitted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect penalty taxes from private religious schools that violated federal laws.<ref name="ippavyui">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5502785|title=Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith|date=June 23, 2006|work=NPR|author=Linda Wertheimer|access-date=January 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202210127/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5502785|archive-date=February 2, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> ====Grassroots activism==== Much of the Christian right's power within the American political system is attributed to their extraordinary turnout rate at the polls. The voters that coexist in the Christian right are also highly motivated and driven to get out a viewpoint on issues they care about. As well as high voter turnout, they can be counted on to attend political events, knock on doors and distribute literature. Members of the Christian right are willing to do the electoral work needed to see their candidate elected. Because of their high level of devotion, the Christian right does not need to monetarily compensate these people for their work.<ref name=Green2006>{{cite news |author1-link=John C. Green|first1=John C. |last1=Green |first2=Mark |last2=Silk |title=Why Moral Values Did Count |work=Religion in the News |date=Spring 2005 |url=http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol8No1/WhyMoral%20ValuesDidCount.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123231911/http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol8No1/WhyMoral%20ValuesDidCount.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1-link=Geoffrey Layman |first1=Geoffrey C. |last1=Layman |first2=John C. |last2=Green |title=Wars and Rumors of Wars: The Contexts of Cultural Conflict in American Political Behavior |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=61β89 |doi=10.1017/S0007123406000044 |s2cid=144870729 }}</ref>{{Update inline|reason=Does this still hold after so many years?|?=yes|date=November 2020}} ====Political leaders and institutions==== Led by [[Robert Grant (Christian Leader)|Robert Grant]] advocacy group [[Christian Voice (USA)|Christian Voice]], Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, [[Ed McAteer]]'s Religious Roundtable Council, [[James Dobson]]'s [[Focus on the Family]], [[Paul Weyrich]]'s [[Free Congress Research and Education Foundation|Free Congress Foundation]] and [[The Heritage Foundation]],<ref name=weyfalw>{{cite news|url=https://latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-weyrich19-2008dec19-story.html#page=1|title=Paul Weyrich, religious conservative and ex-president of Heritage Foundation, dies at 66|author=Elaine Woo|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 19, 2008|access-date=January 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409082035/http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-weyrich19-2008dec19-story.html#page=1|archive-date=April 9, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Pat Robertson]]'s [[Christian Broadcasting Network]], the new Religious Right combined conservative politics with evangelical and fundamentalist teachings.<ref name=Himmelstein>Jerome Himmelstein, p. 97; Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Religious Right, p.49β50, Sara Diamond, [[South End Press]], Boston, MA</ref> The birth of the New Christian right, however, is usually traced to a 1979 meeting where televangelist Jerry Falwell was urged to create a "Moral Majority" organization.<ref name="Martin1996a">{{cite book |last=Martin|first=William|year=1996|title=With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tzi7bIDP3aMC|location=New York|publisher=Broadway Books |isbn=978-0-553-06745-3}}</ref><ref name="Diamond1995a">{{cite book|last=Sara|first=Diamond|year=1995|title=Roads to Dominion|location=New York|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=978-0-89862-864-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/roadstodominionr00diamrich}}</ref> In 1979, Weyrich was in a discussion with Falwell when he remarked that there was a "moral majority" of Americans ready to be called to political action.<ref name=weyfalw /> Weyrich later recalled in a 2007 interview with the ''[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]'' that after he mentioned the term "moral majority", Falwell "turned to his people and said, 'That's the name of our organization.{{'"}}<ref name=weyfalw /> Weyrich would then engineer a strong union between the Republican Party and many culturally conservative Christians.<ref name=weyfalw /> Soon, Moral Majority became a general term for the conservative political activism of evangelists and fundamentalists such as Pat Robertson, [[James Robison (televangelist)|James Robison]], and Jerry Falwell.<ref name=Reinhard>{{cite book|last=Reinhard|first=David|title=The Republican Right since 1945|year=1983|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington, KY|isbn=978-0813114842|page=[https://archive.org/details/republicanrights00rein/page/245 245]|url=https://archive.org/details/republicanrights00rein/page/245}}</ref> Howard Schweber, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, writes that "in the past two decades", "Catholic politicians have emerged as leading figures in the religious conservative movement."<ref name=Schweber2012/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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