Report covers the increased involvement of conservative Christians in American politics, detailing the rise of groups such as Reverend Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority and their possible influence on the 1980 election. On-camera interviews with an unidentified man speaking about history of religious influence on American political processes and church-state separation and an unidentified man speaking against critiques of the new Christian right. Footage of Reagan's nomination as the Republican Presidential candidate, people protesting abortion, and Reverend Jerry Falwell preaching.
Natural sound and VoiceOver narration
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies.[1] Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.[2][3][4]
In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition formed around a core of largely white conservative Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics.[2][5][6][7] The Christian right draws additional support from politically conservative mainline Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[5][8] The movement has its roots in American politics going back as far as the 1940s; it has been especially influential since the 1970s.[1][9][10][11][12] Its influence draws from grassroots activism as well as from focus on social issues and the ability to motivate the electorate around those issues.[13]
The Christian right is notable for advancing socially conservative positions on issues such as creationism in public education,[14] school prayer,[15] temperance,[16] Christian nationalism,[17] and Sunday Sabbatarianism,[18] as well as opposition to biological evolution,[14] embryonic stem cell research,[19] LGBT rights,[3][9][15][20] comprehensive sex education,[21][22] abortion,[15][23] and pornography.[24] Although the term Christian right is most commonly associated with politics in the United States, similar Christian conservative groups can be found in the political cultures of other Christian-majority countries.Ability to organize[edit source]
The Christian Right has engaged in battles over abortion, euthanasia, contraception, pornography, gambling, obscenity, Christian nationalism, Sunday Sabbatarianism (concerning Sunday blue laws), state sanctioned prayer in public schools, textbook contents (concerning creationism), homosexuality, and sexual education.[17][18] The Supreme Court's decision to make abortion a constitutionally protected right in the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling was the driving force behind the rise of the Christian Right in the 1970s.[41] Changing political context led to the Christian Right's advocacy for other issues, such as opposition to euthanasia and campaigning for abstinence-only sex education.[41]
Ralph Reed, the chairman of the Christian Coalition, stated that the 1988 presidential campaign of Pat Robertson was the 'political crucible' that led to the proliferation of Christian Right groups in the United States.[41]
Randall Balmer, on the other hand, has suggested that the New Christian Right Movement's rise was not centered around the issue of abortion, but rather Bob Jones University's refusal to comply with the Supreme Court's 1971 Green v. Connally ruling that permitted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect penalty taxes from private religious schools that violated federal laws.[42]
Grassroots activism[edit source]
Much of the Christian right's power within the American political system is attributed to their extraordinary turnout rate at the polls. The voters that coexist in the Christian right are also highly motivated and driven to get out a viewpoint on issues they care about. As well as high voter turnout, they can be counted on to attend political events, knock on doors and distribute literature. Members of the Christian right are willing to do the electoral work needed to see their candidate elected. Because of their high level of devotion, the Christian right does not need to monetarily compensate these people for their work.[13][43][needs update?]
Political leaders and institutions[edit source]
Led by Robert Grant advocacy group Christian Voice, Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, Ed McAteer's Religious Roundtable Council, James Dobson's Focus on the Family, Paul Weyrich's Free Congress Foundation and The Heritage Foundation,[44] and Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, the new Religious Right combined conservative politics with evangelical and fundamentalist teachings.[32] The birth of the New Christian right, however, is usually traced to a 1979 meeting where televangelist Jerry Falwell was urged to create a "Moral Majority" organization.[33][45]
