Christian right
The Christian right, otherwise referred to as the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies.[3] Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.[7] In the United States, they oppose any interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution that implies a "separation of church and state", as they seek to use politics and the law to impose their conservative Christian beliefs on American society.
This article is about right-wing movements influenced by Christianity. For religious right-wing movements unrelated to Christianity, see Religious right.
In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition which was formed around a core of predominantly White conservative Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics.[11] The Christian right draws additional support from politically conservative mainline Protestants, Orthodox Jews, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[13] The movement has its roots in American politics going back as far as the 1940s; it has been especially influential since the 1970s.[18] Its influence draws from grassroots activism as well as from focus on social issues and the ability to motivate the electorate around those issues.[19]
The Christian right is notable because it has advanced socially conservative positions on issues such as creationism in public education,[20] school prayer,[21] temperance,[22] Christian nationalism,[23] Christian Zionism,[2] and Sunday Sabbatarianism,[24] as well as opposition to biological evolution,[20] embryonic stem cell research,[25] LGBT rights,[27] comprehensive sex education,[28][29] abortion and euthanasia,[31] use of drugs,[2] and pornography.[32] Although the term Christian right is most commonly associated with politics in the United States,[2] similar Christian conservative groups can be found in the political cultures of other Christian-majority countries.[33]
Terminology[edit]
The Christian right is also known as the New Christian Right (NCR) or the Religious Right,[2] although some consider the religious right to be "a slightly broader category than Christian Right".[15][34]
John C. Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life states that Jerry Falwell used the label religious right to describe himself. Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family, states that "[t]erms like 'religious right' have been traditionally used in a pejorative way to suggest extremism. The phrase 'socially conservative evangelicals' is not very exciting, but that's certainly the way to do it."[35]
Evangelical leaders like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council have called attention to the problem of equating the term Christian right with Evangelical Protestants. Although evangelicals constitute the core constituency of the Christian right, not all evangelicals fit the description, and a number of Roman Catholics are also members of the Christian right's core base.[8] The problem of description is further complicated by the fact that the label religious conservative or conservative Christian may apply to other religious groups as well. For instance, Anabaptist Christians (most notably Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, the Bruderhof Communities, Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren and Apostolic Christians) are theologically, socially, and culturally conservative; however, there are no overtly political organizations associated with these Christian denominations, which are usually uninvolved, uninterested, apathetic, or indifferent towards politics.[36] Evangelical theologian and pastor Tim Keller stated that conservative Christianity (theology) predates the Christian right (politics). Keller asserted that being a theological conservative does not require a person to be a political conservative, and that some political progressive views around economics, helping the poor, the redistribution of wealth, and racial diversity are compatible with theologically conservative Christianity.[37] Conservative writer Rod Dreher has stated that a Christian can be theologically conservative while still holding left-wing economic views or even socialist views.[38]
Institutions in the United States[edit]
National organizations[edit]
One early attempt to bring the Christian right into American politics began in 1974 when Robert Grant, an early movement leader, founded American Christian Cause to advocate Christian ideological teachings in Southern California. Concerned that Christians overwhelmingly voted for President Jimmy Carter in 1976, Grant expanded his movement and founded Christian Voice to rally Christian voters behind socially conservative candidates. Prior to his alliance with Falwell, Weyrich sought an alliance with Grant.[58] Grant and other Christian Voice staff soon set up their main office at the headquarters of Weyrich's Heritage Foundation.[58] However, the alliance between Weyrich and Grant fell apart in 1978.[58]
In the late 1980s, Pat Robertson founded the Christian Coalition of America, building from his 1988 presidential run, with Republican activist Ralph Reed, who became the spokesman for the Coalition. In 1992, the national Christian Coalition, Inc., headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, began producing voter guides, which it distributed to conservative Christian churches, both Protestant and Catholic, with the blessing of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.[59] Under the leadership of Reed and Robertson, the Coalition quickly became the most prominent voice in the conservative Christian movement, its influence culminating with an effort to support the election of a conservative Christian to the presidency in 1996. In addition, they have encouraged the convergence of conservative Christian ideology with political issues, such as healthcare, the economy, education and crime.[60]
Political activists lobbied within the Republican party locally and nationally to influence party platforms and nominations.[22] More recently James Dobson's group Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, and the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. have gained enormous respect from Republican lawmakers. While strongly advocating for these ideological matters, Dobson himself is warier of the political spectrum and much of the resources of his group are devoted to other aims such as media.[61] However, as a private citizen, Dobson has stated his opinion on presidential elections; on February 5, 2008, Dobson issued a statement regarding the 2008 presidential election and his strong disappointment with the Republican party's candidates.[62]
In an essay written in 1996, Ralph Reed argued against the moral absolutist tone of Christian right leaders, arguing for the Republican Party Platform to stress the moral dimension of abortion rather than placing emphasis on overturning Roe v. Wade. Reed believes that pragmatism is the best way to advocate for the Christian right.[63]
Partisan activity of churches[edit]
Overtly partisan actions by churches could threaten their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status due to the Johnson Amendment of the Internal Revenue Code.[64] In one notable example, the former pastor of the East Waynesville Baptist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina "told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry should either leave the church or repent".[65] The church later expelled nine members who had voted for Kerry and refused to repent, which led to criticism on the national level. The pastor resigned and the ousted church members were allowed to return.[66]
The Alliance Defense Fund, a far-right group now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, started the Pulpit Freedom Initiative[67] in 2008. ADF states that "[t]he goal of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is simple: have the Johnson Amendment declared unconstitutional – and once and for all remove the ability of the IRS to censor what a pastor says from the pulpit."[68]
Electoral activity[edit]
Both Christian right and secular polling organizations sometimes conduct polls to determine which presidential candidates will receive the support of Christian right constituents. One such poll is taken at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit.[69][70] George W. Bush's electoral success owed much to his overwhelming support from white evangelical voters, who comprise 23% of the vote. In 2000 he received 68% of the white evangelical vote; in 2004 that percentage rose to 78%.[71] In 2016, Donald Trump received 81% of the white evangelical vote.[72][73]
Education[edit]
The Home School Legal Defense Association was co-founded in 1983 by Michael Farris, who would later establish Generation Joshua and Patrick Henry College, and Michael Smith. This organization attempts to challenge laws that serve as obstacles to allowing parents to home-school their children and to organize the disparate group of homeschooling families into a cohesive bloc. The number of homeschooling families has increased in the last twenty years, and around 80 percent of these families identify themselves as evangelicals.[74]
The main universities associated with the Christian right in the United States are:
Views[edit]
Education[edit]
The Christian right strongly advocates for a system of educational choice, using a system of school vouchers, instead of public education. Vouchers would be government funded and could be redeemed for "a specified maximum sum per child per years if spent on approved educational services".[79] This method would allow parents to determine which school their child attends while relieving the economic burden associated with private schools. The concept is popular among constituents of church-related schools, including those affiliated with Roman Catholicism.