The federal government is, once again, nearing a government shutdown due to the impasse between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over this year's budget. The key issue is how much to reduce discretionary spending. For evangelical political leaders, the fiscal fight represents a moral battle where there is little room for compromise.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press suggests that a majority of Americans want legislators to compromise, but evangelicals want politicians to stand their ground.

Pew asked the public how they wanted lawmakers who share their views to do. A majority of Americans (55 percent) said that their legislators should "be more willing to compromise even if that means they pass a budget [I] disagree with." Only 36 percent said lawmakers should "stand by their principles even if that means the government shuts down."

Evangelicals are more likely to want lawmakers to say, "Here I stand. I can do no other." Among the major religious ...

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