Ditch That Pessimism About The Christian Right
Joel S. Hirschhorn
December 09, 2005
Like other progressives yearning for a major political revolution and the crushing of the two-party duopoly and corporatist state I have often felt depressed about the political clout of the Christian right. Now, after some research, I find that my perceptions that have been shaped by the mainstream media and the Bush propaganda machine are off base. The politically active evangelicals, also known as Christocrats, are far fewer and less of a barrier to reforming our delusional democracy than most people imagine. The radical evangelicals have benefited from public confusion. They are not the same in number or beliefs as born again Christians.
We all need to recognize the meaning of terms used indiscriminately in the media. True, 85 percent of Americans describe themselves as Christians. But born again Christians are a subset of Christians, and evangelicals are a small subset of born again Christians. The Barna Group is well recognized as a reliable source of solid information about American Christians. It has found that while born again Christians make up 38 percent of the voting population, evangelicals make up only 7 percent. Widely reported from 2004 exit polls was that self-described born again or evangelical Christians made up 23 percent of voters, which only means that many born again Christians did not vote, like other Americans.
In 2005 the Barna Group conducted a large, reliable national survey of all types of Christians about their actual commitment to Christianity. The results were sobering. Overall, only 29 percent had attended a church service, prayed to God and read from the Bible during the past week, as compared to 73 percent for evangelicals. Across all Christians just 16 percent said the highest priority in their life was their faith, compared to a higher but not all that impressive 55 percent of evangelicals. In terms of general demographics, the following groups showed the highest levels of commitment: women, older over-40 adults, residents in the South, and African-Americans. Interestingly, the fastest growing ethnic groups, Hispanics and Asians, are the least committed, which when combined with the lack of commitment among younger Americans prompted Barna to conclude: “we have what amounts to a crisis of commitment facing the Church of the future.”
Politically, the Bliss Institute at the University of Akron found that only 48 percent of evangelicals are what might be labeled as the Religious Right, meaning that 52 percent are centrists and progressives. Some 55 percent favor the government spending more to fight poverty even if it requires more taxes on the wealthy, and 52 percent favor environmental regulations even it that costs jobs. The Barna Group found that in the 2004 presidential election the born again Christians that cast 53 percent of the votes backed George W. Bush by a 62 to 38 percent margin as compared to the much smaller group of evangelical voters that backed Bush by an 85 to 15 percent margin. Other data revealed that just 52 percent of Catholic voters backed Bush.
Ronald J. Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action has faced reality and discovered what progressives should welcome. He acknowledges the considerable hypocrisy among evangelicals and that “It is a farce for evangelical leaders to ask Washington to legislate what we cannot persuade our own church members to live.” Why is this true? Because “evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered and sexually immoral as the world in general,” he concluded.
Sider has emphasized the frequent hypocrisy of the pro-life movement: “If evangelical political activists want to embrace a biblically balanced agenda, they will have to care about a lot more than abortion and family. The sanctity of human life also pertains to people dying from hunger, AIDS, tobacco smoke, and capital punishment.”
Joseph C. Hough, president of the Union Theological Seminary, one of many critics of the radical evangelists, sees economic inequality from a religious perspective: “It is not at all in the spirit of American democracy to generate inequality, and to contradict equal opportunity in our society. Those are not the norms we’ve lived by. …It is the obscene degree to which economic inequality has taken hold in America that I think is highly questionable. …If Tom DeLay is acting out of his Born Again Christian convictions in pushing legislation that disadvantages the poor every time he opens his mouth, I’m not saying he’s not a Born Again Christian, but as the Lord’s humble fruit inspector, it sure looks suspicious to me. …We could ask ourselves ‘What changes in the direction of this country are necessary if it really is gonna make a claim to be a democracy?’ We’re not asking it to be a theocracy. A democracy. That’s what it’s about. Politically, that’s what it’s about.” Amen.
I conclude that there is a lot of good news for those of us interested in breaking the current two-party duopoly and corporatist corruption status quo. What should be far more appreciated is how disconnected from the majority of American Christians are the most politically active and radical Christians – the theocratic right – especially theocratic leaders of national Christian evangelical groups with close ties to the Republican Party and the Bush administration. There are many millions of Christians, including born again Christians, who are potential supporters of well crafted and framed progressive messages.
Progressives should also acknowledge how some leading conservatives have seen the scourge of the theocratic right. Way back in 1994 Republican icon Barry Goldwater said: “Our problem is with…the religious extremists…who want to destroy everybody who doesn’t agree with them. I see them as betrayers of the fundamental principles of conservatism.” More recently, ordained minister and former conservative Senator and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Danforth said: “Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians.”
Despite the zealots’ money, organization, and media presence, progressives can win the Holy War started by the radical, theocratic right. After all, a movement directed by fascists, racists, dominionists, and religious terrorists is vulnerable, because they and their cult-like followers are a minority attached to a political party taking the nation toward economic disaster.
Joel S. Hirschhorn is author of the forthcoming Delusional Democracy – Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government to be published by Common Courage Press; his current book is Sprawl Kills – How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money. He can be reached through www.sprawlkills.com.]
We all need to recognize the meaning of terms used indiscriminately in the media. True, 85 percent of Americans describe themselves as Christians. But born again Christians are a subset of Christians, and evangelicals are a small subset of born again Christians. The Barna Group is well recognized as a reliable source of solid information about American Christians. It has found that while born again Christians make up 38 percent of the voting population, evangelicals make up only 7 percent. Widely reported from 2004 exit polls was that self-described born again or evangelical Christians made up 23 percent of voters, which only means that many born again Christians did not vote, like other Americans.
In 2005 the Barna Group conducted a large, reliable national survey of all types of Christians about their actual commitment to Christianity. The results were sobering. Overall, only 29 percent had attended a church service, prayed to God and read from the Bible during the past week, as compared to 73 percent for evangelicals. Across all Christians just 16 percent said the highest priority in their life was their faith, compared to a higher but not all that impressive 55 percent of evangelicals. In terms of general demographics, the following groups showed the highest levels of commitment: women, older over-40 adults, residents in the South, and African-Americans. Interestingly, the fastest growing ethnic groups, Hispanics and Asians, are the least committed, which when combined with the lack of commitment among younger Americans prompted Barna to conclude: “we have what amounts to a crisis of commitment facing the Church of the future.”
Politically, the Bliss Institute at the University of Akron found that only 48 percent of evangelicals are what might be labeled as the Religious Right, meaning that 52 percent are centrists and progressives. Some 55 percent favor the government spending more to fight poverty even if it requires more taxes on the wealthy, and 52 percent favor environmental regulations even it that costs jobs. The Barna Group found that in the 2004 presidential election the born again Christians that cast 53 percent of the votes backed George W. Bush by a 62 to 38 percent margin as compared to the much smaller group of evangelical voters that backed Bush by an 85 to 15 percent margin. Other data revealed that just 52 percent of Catholic voters backed Bush.
Ronald J. Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action has faced reality and discovered what progressives should welcome. He acknowledges the considerable hypocrisy among evangelicals and that “It is a farce for evangelical leaders to ask Washington to legislate what we cannot persuade our own church members to live.” Why is this true? Because “evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered and sexually immoral as the world in general,” he concluded.
Sider has emphasized the frequent hypocrisy of the pro-life movement: “If evangelical political activists want to embrace a biblically balanced agenda, they will have to care about a lot more than abortion and family. The sanctity of human life also pertains to people dying from hunger, AIDS, tobacco smoke, and capital punishment.”
Joseph C. Hough, president of the Union Theological Seminary, one of many critics of the radical evangelists, sees economic inequality from a religious perspective: “It is not at all in the spirit of American democracy to generate inequality, and to contradict equal opportunity in our society. Those are not the norms we’ve lived by. …It is the obscene degree to which economic inequality has taken hold in America that I think is highly questionable. …If Tom DeLay is acting out of his Born Again Christian convictions in pushing legislation that disadvantages the poor every time he opens his mouth, I’m not saying he’s not a Born Again Christian, but as the Lord’s humble fruit inspector, it sure looks suspicious to me. …We could ask ourselves ‘What changes in the direction of this country are necessary if it really is gonna make a claim to be a democracy?’ We’re not asking it to be a theocracy. A democracy. That’s what it’s about. Politically, that’s what it’s about.” Amen.
I conclude that there is a lot of good news for those of us interested in breaking the current two-party duopoly and corporatist corruption status quo. What should be far more appreciated is how disconnected from the majority of American Christians are the most politically active and radical Christians – the theocratic right – especially theocratic leaders of national Christian evangelical groups with close ties to the Republican Party and the Bush administration. There are many millions of Christians, including born again Christians, who are potential supporters of well crafted and framed progressive messages.
Progressives should also acknowledge how some leading conservatives have seen the scourge of the theocratic right. Way back in 1994 Republican icon Barry Goldwater said: “Our problem is with…the religious extremists…who want to destroy everybody who doesn’t agree with them. I see them as betrayers of the fundamental principles of conservatism.” More recently, ordained minister and former conservative Senator and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Danforth said: “Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians.”
Despite the zealots’ money, organization, and media presence, progressives can win the Holy War started by the radical, theocratic right. After all, a movement directed by fascists, racists, dominionists, and religious terrorists is vulnerable, because they and their cult-like followers are a minority attached to a political party taking the nation toward economic disaster.
Joel S. Hirschhorn is author of the forthcoming Delusional Democracy – Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government to be published by Common Courage Press; his current book is Sprawl Kills – How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money. He can be reached through www.sprawlkills.com.]
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