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All the while, speculation continues on who will be the new standard bearer for the Religious Right. Although Sarah Palin charmed this core constituency of the Republican Party, don't expect her to become their public face. Evangelicals have too much political savvy for that. Just as they distanced themselves from Dan Quayle in the 1990s, so also will evangelicals move away from Governor Palin, despite her charisma. Certainly, she will remain in the public eye, maybe complete with her own television show. But she has never been able to articulate a religiously-inspired vision for public policy in the way that Phyllis Schlafly or Tony Perkins—both stalwarts of the Religious Right—have.

It is possible that Mike Huckabee may lead the Religious Right. Like Charles Colson, Huckabee has actual government experience and shares with Colson a unique blend of theological insight and political acumen. But the former governor of Arkansas will have to decide if he wants to be a contender for the Republican nomination in 2012. If so, he will spend much more energy building relationships with fiscal conservatives (who did not support him in 2008) than deepening friendships with fellow social conservatives.

A more likely choice is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. His conservative credentials are unassailable with a 100% pro-life voting record according to the National Right to Life Committee and consistent opposition to embryonic stem cell research. He converted to Catholicism after being raised in a Hindu family, and he served as an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services in the first term of George W. Bush's administration. A former Rhodes Scholar, Jindal was rumored to be the front-runner to join John McCain's presidential ticket earlier this summer. As the first Indian-American governor in U.S. history, Jindal would represent, quite literally, a new face for the Religious Right.

Whatever happens in the months ahead, three things are certain. A new cohort of public figures will emerge, each claiming to represent American evangelicals. President-elect Obama will appoint a few of them to his administration, but none to high office. Second, the public disdain for the evangelical "brand" will subside a good bit as Bush-era religious conservatives fade from attention. Finally, by next fall, the Religious Right will solidify its support behind two or three newer figures as they seek to remake the movement's public image.

D. Michael Lindsay is a sociologist at Rice University and the author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite (Oxford), which is being released in paperback later this month.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today interviewed Lindsay about his research and reviewed his book. His book won first place in CT's book awards in the Christianity and Culture category.

He also recently wrote "The Engine of the Market" for Christianity Today.

For more politics coverage, see Christianity Today's campaign 2008 section and the politics blog.

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November (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52