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After Election Day, the op-ed pages of The New York Times seriously freaked out, say the GetReligion bloggers. Their response to the number of Christians whose votes turned on moral issues can be summed up in one headline: "The Day the Enlightenment Went Out" (republished at CommonDreams).

But it seems that at least one Times columnist is beginning to settle in for the next four years. Nicholas D. Kristof, whom Weblog has previously criticized, says that while he still disagrees with the Religious Right, they're right on with international human rights issues.

"Members of the Christian Right, exemplified by [Kansas Senator Sam] Brownback, are the new internationalists, increasingly engaged in humanitarian causes abroad—thus creating opportunities for common ground between Left and Right on issues we all care about."

He then lists several human rights issues on which religious conservatives have taken the lead:

• Sex trafficking—"Paul Wellstone, the liberal from Minnesota, led an effort with Mr. Brownback and others to pass landmark legislation in 2000 to battle sex slavery around the world. But since Mr. Wellstone's death in 2002, the leadership on the issue has passed to the Christian Right and to the Bush administration."
• Sudan—"Conservative Christians have been jumping up and down about Sudan for years."
• North Korea—"It has been Mr. Brownback and other conservative Christians who have turned the heat on North Korea's human-rights record."

Kristof also rattles off other issues: "immigration reform, prison reform, increased funds for AIDS and malaria, construction of an African American history museum, and even an apology to American Indians."

"Liberals traditionally were the bleeding hearts," says Kristof, but now things are changing. He cites Allen Hertzke's Freeing God's Children (excerpted and reviewed on our website) to show that evangelicals are "leaping into human rights causes."

So, Kristof suggests that Democrats do something while out of power. "Democrats aren't going to accomplish much on their own over the next four years, but by working with the likes of Mr. Brownback they might register real progress on sex trafficking, an African American history museum, malaria and immigration reform. That would be a much better use of the next four years than sulking."

Not only that, but it could mean an opportunity for conservative Christians to work with liberals on other issues, and show that the Religious Right stands for issues beyond the sanctity of life and traditional marriage. There has been talk of the Democratic Party loosening up their strong pro-abortion stance. Maybe working with Democrats on international human rights issues could help pave the way toward a "culture of life" at home.

California Civil Unions OK'd, Marriage Challenge Begins
The Campaign for California Families and the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Education Fund lost their effort to prevent California's civil-unions bill from taking effect January 1 before an appeals court hears their challenge to the law. Passed in September, the law provides that "same-sex couples who register as domestic partners in California will have the same spousal benefits as married couples in California, except for the ability to file joint income taxes."

Earlier, a Superior Court judge disagreed with "Christian activist" groups opposing the bill, according to the Associated Press, saying it does not violate California's Proposition 22, which requires the state to recognize only heterosexual marriages. The court is allowing the appeal to move forward.

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December (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48