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Speaking Out

Changing of the Guard

What happens to the Religious Right?

D. Michael Lindsay | posted 11/07/2008 03:00PM

This article was first posted at The Immanent Frame, the Social Science Research Council's blog on secularism, religion, and the public sphere.

In the wake of the presidential election, who now speaks ...

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scott in vegas

Posted: November 12, 2008 10:31 PM


good article, very thoughtful and makes us reevaluate what we stand for. I linked it to http://www.newchurchreport.com to share it with others, along with a bunch of other articles and interesting blog posts...

HomeBuilding

Posted: November 11, 2008 6:27 PM

It's truly amazing how narrowly the author defines Our Lord and Savior! Is there eternal condemnation for abortions or contraception (unapproved by the US evangelical right) performed before 1973? (Did we ask about our politicians views or experience on the matter before 1973?) Are Christians in other lands evil (and condemned to a fiery hell because they've voted for politicians who wouldn't pass anti-abortion litmus tests for the US religious right? Will abortions go away if they were banned NOW in the U.S? I find abortion appalling, but I find the GROSS self-righteousness of the author and those making it their full time job to demonize Democrats and Obama as even more appalling, if that's possible.

MSZ	Posted: November 11, 2008 1:37 PM

Republicans need to return to first principles, those unassailable philosophies, theologies and documents that established the American (and Western) ideals. The Constitution would have been an interesting platform to run on for McCain. Who, in their right mind, wants to "CHANGE" that? Palin could have been much more vocal about morality (based upon conservative theology) and discovered a majority of Americans depend profoundly upon morals and don't "HOPE" they'll ever go away.

Howard

Posted: November 11, 2008 6:11 AM

The attitude and behavior of the religious right during the recent presidential campaign revealed us for what we are -- politically motivated and un-Christian. In our desire to defend Biblical truth as we see it, we trampled all over the truth. Our willingness to distort, manipulate and twist the truth in order to acheive our political agenda has brought shame and reproach on the name of Jesus and on His church. We are like blind guides, leading the blind. We swallow camels and strain at gnats. Barack Obama demonstrated throughout the campaign the kind of genuine Christian character that John McCain does not even begin to understand, yet we vilified Obama and blindly supported McCain. I fear God is going to judge American evangelicalism for our blatant distortion of the Gospel. We have scrupulously tithed the herbs in our garden while neglecting justice and mercy. May God have mercy on our souls.

Marilyn

Posted: November 10, 2008 7:38 PM

I heartily wish the "religious right" movement would die. It's done more damage to the perception of our faith than anything in my view. I've never heard such mean things from ANYONE as I heard from evangelicals in the run-up to this election. And Palin's remarks about Obama were anything but Christian. (I just read an article saying that the Secret Service has reported the death threats against him skyrocketed after her attacks.) Yes, Chrisitians need to be involved politically. But as Christians first, party members second. For a long time now, the reverse seems to have been the order.

Doug	Posted: November 10, 2008 7:04 PM

Conservative evangelicals will be emboldened even more when they see embryos created for experimentation via their tax dollars, abortions on the rise, government tax dollars being used to pay for abortions etc. Conservative Chrsitians are not fundamentalists by the way. I certainly am not a fundamentalist with respect to the prejorative use of the term. And if you think being historically orthodox is being a fundamentalist then so be it. Jesus was a fundamentalist. What you are talking about is legalism not orthodoxy. The Pharisees were legalists not fundamentalists. Jesus said to the Pharisees that if they teach people to break one of the least of the commandments they will be the least in the kingdom of God. It is a sad day when Christians vote for a President that doesn't understand the life issue of abortion. And the youth will save the church when they repent of their self-indulgence and greed. The church has never been more dysfunctional.

Johnny

Posted: November 10, 2008 6:38 PM


I think the "religious right" will be persecuted to some extent (like not being able to publicly speak their mind, etc.). They will be forced to pay for abortions through government tax and send their kids to schools that teach them that being married to the same sex is okay. This will force the religious right to wake up and get more serious about the fight. They will grow stronger through this.

Wendell Franklin Wentz

Posted: November 10, 2008 5:01 PM

Obama's election to the White House is a Godsend. The far right will always be with human kind. Jesus faced the far right in the Pharisees. Thomas Jefferson faced the far right in the Puritans. Modern Christianity faces the far right in the fundamentalists. They are so thick that you cannot spit without hitting one. They will live on until the end of days. They are here to make people think about their religion, and they are here as naysayers, and Lord knows, we need them. God loves humor, and he put the old timers on earth to make progress harder, and after the battles are won, Christians will be stronger. If it had not been for the Youth in our land, Obama would have lost the election. They are here to save the Church and Christianity from the far right, and we need all the help we can muster to save the Bible from the Fundamentalists. Lord, save us from the far right with all your might. Amen. -Wendell Franklin Wentz

John	Posted: November 10, 2008 3:48 PM

I don't think the Obama presidency is the disaster many seem to think it is. For one thing, I think it is an open opportunity to partner with black churches that will only grow in power and stature during his adminisration to reach out to the black community. Additionally, and maybe more importantly, it is an opportunity to de-couple Christianity from the right wing of the Republican party whose economic and military policies should make any believer in the Jesus of the Bible cringe. Granted Obama is steeped in the social policies of the left, and here we will have to stand our ground. But much can be positively about a foreign policy that depends more on rightousness and less on bombs, and an economic policy that is not exclusively aimed at enriching the very top. And most social ills like drug use, teen pregnancy, crime, and abortion all went down in the Clinton years are a broad prosperity reached down even into the lower classes. We can find common ground.

Ruth	Posted: November 10, 2008 2:48 PM

I don't understand how one election can kill any movement. People keep talking about the death of conservatism. This is one election, and it is one that followed a very unpopular conservative administration. We don't know what will happen in the future. Just because a Democrat won this time doesn't mean next time it won't be a Republican. We can only take things one election at a time. One election does not kill off an entire movement such as the Religious Right. All spectrums of political belief, be the leftist, rightist, or centrist, have survived through our countries history. Why would one election change that?

JohnW

Posted: November 10, 2008 1:03 PM

One thing to consider is many may decide to no longer be evangelicals after realizing 80% of white evangelicals voted Bush in 2004 and 75% voted for McCain in 2008. Given what has transpired and has been revealed about the current adminstration these last few years, many well meaning, thoughtful followers of Christ may conclude it's time to stand up for what is right and reject the "evangelical" label. I predict that in the next few years "evangelicalism" will make a hard turn to the right and be even more intolerant. And when people call them on it, they will scream "we are being persecuted by the Godless secular progressives that have taken over our country..."

Jeff Fairchild

Posted: November 10, 2008 11:59 AM

To say that the "Religious Right" divided this country is correct. However, the division was caused by a rejection of the prophetic message by many who want to see the gay agenda advance and who want to continue the horrible practice of abortion. We live in a selfish country that only cares about what is in it for them. We have forgotten that God's Word still is the truth and that we are going to be judged by it. I think that we have started the judgement by who we have elected to the presidency. I think that true Christians will look back at the Bush Presidency and wish for the good old days. Bad days are on the way. Maybe it is time we truly turn back to God and take His Word seriously!

Jan	Posted: November 08, 2008 1:38 PM

I can't see how you can not hear the Christianity in Obama, to me he exemplafies (sp) what Christ has called us too. I particularly did not like the 16 page James Dobson diatribe on 2012, Pure FEAR speacking, not even reasonable. We belong to a church which is oprobably 80% McCain supporters but we stay for another voice in the Christian world --living the life we feel God has called us too. The pendulum has swung again and will take all of us working with our new president to restore our economy, end these wars and killings.

K.W. Leslie

Posted: November 08, 2008 1:57 AM

The religious right had made a god of their agenda, and is pushing it over (and in some cases against) the love of God through Jesus Christ, because they have no problem hating their enemies, nor violating a whole slew of God's commandments (bearing false witness, say) in order to win elections. The end never justifies the means; the means taint the end, and if you expect to support God in your vote, you'd better follow God in your campaign or you'll find God left you a long time ago.

M.Sherwood

Posted: November 07, 2008 6:09 PM

Oh, wouldn't it be great if the "Religious Right" woke up and realized how to truly live like Christ? The "Religious Right" has accomplished the anti-Christian goal of dividing the country and was responsible for the kind of hatred that was so strongly represented by the Palin rallies. The labeling of Obama as "terrorist" and "socialist" has nothing to do with fact, only hatred. It is a wonderful irony that Obama has displayed the Christlike characteristic of not stooping to their level - Did we ever wonder about Mcain's pastor, for example? The death of the "Religious Right" is long overdue!

Allan

Posted: November 07, 2008 5:05 PM

It seems to me that the more one's secular edcation increases, the more the ability to understand spirtual things diminishes. We tried to bring God's Word back to a nation who has rejected Him, and it was refused, and He was relegated to a historical status. The judgment of America has begun, and God's man to see that come about has been elected by people who blindly held on to every word he said. The Apostle Paul warned us in I Thessalonians 2:10-13 And with all decievableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned wh believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. I don't believe for minute he is tha Antichrist, but I believe that he was raised up to prepare the way to one world government.

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