Chapter 2

The Christian Right in Twentieth-Century America

Onward Christian Soldiers?

The Religious Right in American Politics

The Fundamentalist Religious Revolt

In the early 20th century two religious movements emerged

that would later provide the major constituencies for the

Christian Right:

1. Fundamentalism

2. Pentacostalism

Social Gospel

Protestant churches, using Darwin’s natural selection theory,

preached a social gospel of responsibility to the poor and

disadvantaged.

Social gospel – in this view, Darwin’s theory implied that

humans were perfectible. The best way to pursue perfection

was to ameliorate the conditions of poverty and ignorance.

Fundamentalist Doctrine

At the core of fundamentalist doctrine were three core ideas:

1. Premillenialism - a doctrine about the timing of the second

coming of Christ.

2. Dispensationalism – the belief that God has dealt with

humans under different covenants in different eras.

3. The belief that the way to know God’s will was to study the

Bible.

The Fundamentalist Movement

The fundamentalist movement generated enormous religious

energy.

The most distinctive characteristic doctrinal element of

fundamentalism was separatism.

Separatism – the importance of keeping themselves apart

from the impure world and from doctrinally impure

Christians.

The Pentecostal Movement

Pentecostals originally focused on the immanent power of

God and especially of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Pentecostals believe the Holy Spirit imparts to many special

religious gifts:

Glossolalia (speaking in tongues)

Faith healing

Prophecy

Being “slain by the Spirit”

Hostility Between the Movements

1. The doctrinal differences that seem minor to those outside

of the evangelical tradition are quite important to those

within it.

2. Both movements arose at approximately the same time and

therefore competed for the same set of members.

3. There are differences in style that accompany the doctrinal

distinctions.

The Fundamentalist Political Revolt

In the 1920s the fundamentalist movement spilled over into

politics when fundamentalist ministers began challenging

scientific theories.

The antievolution groups used a variety of tactics in their

efforts to pass state laws banning the teaching of evolution.

The Scopes Trial

The climax of the antievolution crusades was the Scopes

trial.

John Thomas Scopes stood accused in 1925 of teaching

evolution in the public schools. He was defended by Clarence

Darrow.

The fundamentalist view of evolution was defended by

William Jennings Bryan, a democratic presidential candidate.

The Anticommunist Crusades After World War II the Soviet Union emerged as the only serious

international rival to the United States.

Senator Joseph McCarthy and others charged that much of

America’s government was infiltrated by communist agents.

However, the fundamentalist anticommunist crusades were not

well known even among those conservative fundamentalists most

sympathetic to their message.

The Fundamentalist Right of the 1980s

In the late 1970s, a new fundamentalist Christian Right was

organized. This wave of activity was due to:

1. A series of local political movements across the country

demonstrating the potential political energy of

fundamentalists and evangelicals in politics.

2. The presidential candidacy of Jimmy Carter, a born-again

Southern baptist.

The Moral Majority

This was the fundamentalist group of the 1970s and 1980s

that attracted the most attention.

Its leader was Jerry Falwell, an eager advocate of the

Christian Right.

The Moral Majority built its organization primarily through

pastors in the Baptist Bible Fellowship (BBF).

The Robertson Campaign

In 1987 Marion “Pat” Robertson announced that he would

seek the Republican presidential nomination.

On his Baptist television show, the 700 Club, he spoke in

tongues and healed by faith.

His campaign got off to a good start but was soon mired by

scandal due in part to other televangelists. Ultimately, he

was badly defeated.

The Christian Right, 1920-1990

Continuity and Change

The waves of Christian Right activity between 1920 and

1990 had several things in common:

Each was mobilized through infrastructure and communication

channels already in place.

Each was built around one or more preachers who used the

technology of the time to reach an increasingly broader mass

audience.

A Second Coming?

The Christian Right, 1990-2004

At the end of the 1980s the Christian Right seemed defeated yet the Christian Coalition made a concerted effort to keep the movement going.

An incarnation of the Christian Right has had considerable success in forging ecumenical ties.

Christian Right leaders have made an effort to adopt the secular language of politics and also the language of victimization.

The Passing of the Guard:

The Christian Right After 2004

Since the 2004 election of President Bush there has been

considerable change in the Christian Right.

Today Christian Right groups face major financial shortfalls and

there is some evidence that younger evangelicals are less

supportive of the Christian Right.

Today it must find a way to appeal to new members without losing

the intense support of its most ardent members.

The Target Constituency of the

Christian Right

Most analysts agree that the principal target audience of the

Christian Right remains the white evangelical community,

especially its fundamentalist and pentecostal wings.

However, the contemporary Christian Right is also targeting

conservative Catholics, mainline Protestants, and African

Americans.

White Evangelicals

White evangelicals are united by a common core theology:

they share a belief in the importance of a personal conversion

experience that involves repenting of sin and accepting Jesus

Christ as personal savior.

However, there are many varying beliefs between

fundamentalists, pentecostals, charismatics, and other

evangelicals.

Conservative White Catholics

The Christian Right has made special appeals to conservative

Catholics even though they did not feel welcome in the

Moral Majority.

Many Catholics support some of the key issues of the

Christian Right. Catholics are attracted to the movement’s

support of Christian schools, family values, and great

prominence of Christian faith in public life.

White Mainline Protestants

Although movement leaders seldom mention mainline

Protestants as a target for future mobilization, there are

morally conservative Christians in Presbyterian, Methodist,

Lutheran, and Episcopal churches across America.

In the South, a substantial minority of white mainline

Protestants who regularly attend church support much of the

Christian Right agenda.

Ethnic and Racial Minority Christian

Groups

Although it is primarily among white evangelicals that the

Christian Right has recruited its activists, African Americans

and Latinos have also displayed conservative leanings on

social and economic policies.

On economic issues there are large gaps between white

evangelicals and the four religious communities of black

mainline, black evangelical, Latino Protestant, and Latino

Catholic.

Issue Groups in the Target

Constituency

For the Christian Right to make significant gains among

white and black evangelicals, white mainline Protestants,

white Catholics, African Americans and Latinos it is in part

dependent on the issue agenda of the movement.

There is considerable support in each religious constituency

for some of the key values of the movement.