Not All Evangelicals Voted for Bush. That's News?
The controversy at Calvin looked nothing like it played in the media.
by Collin Hansen | posted 5/27/2005 12:00AM
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What we have here are two common journalistic mistakes: assuming something is news if the reporter didn't know about it before, and reaching for a trend that doesn't really exist. In fact, Bumiller gets things exactly backward: For the vast majority of American history, evangelicals have been anything but a monolithic voting bloc. They helped Democrats hold the Solid South under segregation, fueled William Jennings Bryan's unsuccessful Democratic bids for a populist presidency, and gave moral impetus to Republican abolitionist and Reconstruction efforts.
As for the growing Christian Left, this trend is hard to prove. Remembering the vibrant Christian Left that sided with FDR and LBJ, left-leaning evangelicals may well lament how Bush actually upped his white evangelical support from 68 percent in 2000 to 78 percent in 2004.
Undaunted, Bumiller further explained that Calvin "is politically more progressive than other evangelical colleges. (Faculty members estimate that about 20 percent of students opposed Mr. Bush in 2004.)" I suppose that if you assume universal evangelical support for Bush, 80 percent seems progressive. But since Bush garnered 78 percent white evangelical support in 2004, the students of Calvin College might actually be a bit more conservative than the evangelical mainstream.
Bush's trek to Calvin showcased a healthy diversity of evangelical thought and political opinion that too often escapes unfamiliar observers. "If ever there [was] a story about respectful dialogue, the kind of political engagement which this country needs right now, there it was," Nate Bulthuis, outgoing chair of Calvin College Republicans, told me Monday. "But by the very nature of its respectfulness, the news media didn't have the time to cover it." It's not that the Times and Post didn't have time, Nate. Who needs reality when fantasy is more fun?
Collin Hansen is assistant editor of Christianity Today.
Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Hansen's coverage of the story includes:
Bush Commissions Calvin Grads to Serve | Pre-visit controversy gives way to cheers at commencement. (May 23, 2005)
Bush Visit to Calvin College Exposes Divisions | Commencement address invigorates debates about the Reformed relationship to American politics and evangelicalism. (May 20, 2005)
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