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The Christian Right in the United States

Origin, Structure, and Political Activism

Magisterarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Magister Artium

An der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

Nils Schnelle

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Contents

1

Introduction

1

1.1

Structure and Goals of this Thesis

2

1.2

The Area of Focus and the Structure

2

1.3

Survey of Existing Literature

3

2

An Introduction to Evangelical Protestantism

4

2.1

Evangelical Denominations

7

2.1.1 Fundamentalism

7

2.1.2

-Evangelicalism

8

2.1.3 Pentecostalism and Charismatics

9

2.1.4 Conclusion

10

2.1.5 Analysis of the Socio-Demographic Details of Evangelicals

12

3

Evangelicals and Politics

14

3.1

Religious Reasons for Political Abstinence

14

3.2

The 1920s Sporadic Activism, Followed by Retreat

14

3.3

The Fundamentalist Comeback of the 1950s

16

3.3.1 Anticommunism

16

3.3.2 Further Organizations of the 1950s

17

3.4

The Height of Liberalism and its Consequences for Evangelicals

18

3.5

20

3.6

The Creation of the New Christian Right

21

3.6.1 Targeting Conservative Evangelicals

22

4

The First Generation of Organizations

24

4.1

The Moral Majority

24

4.2

Other Organizations of the 1980s

26

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4.2.1 Religious Roundtable

27

4.2.2 Christian Voice

27

4.2.3 American Coalition for Traditional Values

28

4.3

Fundraising

29

4.4

Summary: The Christian Right of the 1980s

30

4.5

30

5

Pat Robertson Bringing Charismatics and Pentecostals into Politics

32

5.1

33

5.2

Conclusion -

36

6

The Second Generation The Christian Right in the 1990s

36

6.1

Christian Coalition

37

6.1.1 Ralph Reed

37

6.1.2 The launching of Christian Coalition

38

6.1.3 Membership and its Structure

42

6.1.4 Funding & Finances

45

6.1.5 The Christian Coalition and the GOP

46

6.1.6

47

6.2

Focus on the Family

48

6.3

Family Research Council

48

6.4

Concerned Women for America

51

6.4.1 Strategy Pioneering in Juridical Action

52

6.4.2 Structure and Organization

53

6.4.3 Funding

54

6.4.4 Membership

54

6.5

Eagle Forum

55

7

56

7.1

A Transformation of Strategy

56

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7.2

Focusing on legal action

57

7.3

Juridical Organizations of the Christian Right

58

7.3.1 American Center for Law and Justice

58

7.3.2 Rutherford Institute

59

8

Strategies & Issues

60

8.1

Homosexuality

60

8.2

Foreign Policy

62

9

The Development of Evangelical Party Affiliation

64

9.1

From Democrat to Republican

64

9.2

Infiltrating the GOP

65

9.2.1 Gaining Control at the Local Level

67

9.2.2 Conflicts between established Republicans and Christian

69

Right Newcomers

9.2.3 Premises for Evangelical Involvement

70

10

Conclusion

70

10.1

What they really want: the ultimate goals of the Christian Right

70

10.2

Has the Christian Right been successful so far?

72

10.3

Looking Ahead A Personal Forecast

73

11

Works Cited

74

11.1

Primary Sources

74

11.1.1 Publications of the Christian Right

74

11.2

Secondary Sources

76

11.2.1 Monographies and Collected Editions

76

11.2.2 Newspaper Articles

79

11.2.3 Articles from Periodicals

81

11.2.4 Unpublished Articles

82

11.2.5 Miscellaneous Internet-based Sources

82

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11.2.6 E-Mail Correspondence

82

12

Appendix

12.1

Websites

List of Illustrations

Figure 1: White Evangelical Religious Traditions

12

Membership and Budget

43

68

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1. Introduction

This thesis will address the political movement of the Christian Right (see chapter 3.6 on why

this term is most apt), one of the most controversial movements in the American political

system. Clyde Wilcox fittingly summarized the amplitude of views about the Christian Right:

At their most extreme, these divergent views of the Christian Right paint a picture of

stalwart Christians battling satanic forces for the soul of America or of neo-Nazi

storm troopers rounding up homosexuals or roasting marshmallows in the flames

from the books they have culled from the public library. 1

Its critics have accused it of trying to establish a theocracy in the United States,2 of trying to

strip homosexuals of their civil rights,3 and called it fascist,4 to name but a few allegations.5

Leaders of the Christian Right, on the other hand, have harshly attacked those they made out

as advocates

6 have accused them of anti-Christian bigotry,7 and have

repeatedly employed extreme rhetoric when addressing their (political) adversaries.8 Within

about twenty-five years, the movement developed from almost complete political abstinence

into a highly organized political force.

The subject is appealing for research for several reasons: firstly, it is a good example of how

vivid and influential religion and religiously motivated political action still are, in spite of the

secularization theory widely adhered to in the respective period of time. It is also still current,

as there has been some fluctuation in terms of activity and degree of organization, but so far

the Christian Right has not ceased to exist.

1 Wilcox, Clyde. Onward Christian Soldiers? The Religious Right in American Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996.

95.

2 Boston, Robert. The Most Dangerous Man in America?: Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition. Amherst

(NY): Prometheus Books, 1996. 161.

3 Wilcox, Clyde. Onward Christian Soldiers? The Religious Right in American Politics 93.

4 Brocker, Manfred. Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung: Die christliche Rechte im politischen System der USA. Frankfurt

a.M.: Campus Verlag, 2004. 13.

5 Compare Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung 13-14.

6 Falwell apologizes to gays, feminists, lesbians. Ed. CNN.com. 2001. 30 Mar. 2008.

<http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/>.

7 Boston 161.

8 "Robertson Letter Attacks Feminists". New York Times. 26.8.1992. 30 Mar. 2008.

For examples of anti-homosexual rhetoric, see also: Diamond, Sara. Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the

Christian Right. New York, London: The Guilford Press, 1998. 156-172.

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1.1 Structure and Goals of this Thesis

The goal of the thesis is to explore the emergence of the movement, to portrait the

developments that brought theologically conservative Protestants (Evangelicals) from

isolation and retreat into a subculture to active and organized political involvement. Due to

a focus has to be set: instead of developing a complete survey of the movement, its origins

and its time of prosperity will be explored in detail, including particularly descriptions of the

organizations

will not be

analyzed as thoroughly, for two

, offer more additional

material than what could be included here. Secondly, the research available so far for the

period from 2000 on offers not nearly as much sources and comprehensive works as there are

available for the previous decades (as explained in the survey of existing literature).

Therefore, references to those years will only be made selectively, as far as appropriate and

possible. The central questions to be answered are linked to the controversy surrounding the

movement: (1) Has the Christian Right been trying to accomplish what its critics fear, a

theocracy, and a Christian nation in which there would be no place for dissenters?

(2) Is the Christian Right a legitimate movement operating within the frame of the political

system, or is it set out to ultimately change that system?

Resulting from those questions is the evaluation of

(regardless of what can be concluded to answer the above questions):

(3) Which of its goals have been achieved, what balance can be drawn?

1.2 The Area of Focus and the Structure

The key to understanding the individual and collective motivation of Christian Right activists

is their faith, as well as the characteristics of the various subgroups of Evangelicalism.

Therefore, chapter two will provide an introduction to American Evangelicalism: its

development, theological basis, and various currents will be treated. Chapter three will then

deal with the Evangelicals

retreat from the public, political abstinence, and the sporadic engagement in the 1950s, until

the emergence of the New Christian Right at the end of the 1970s. The thesis will be focused

on the developments of the late 1970s through the end of the 1990s, as this period covers the

formation of the movement and its organization, and the most important events that triggered

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it. In order to describe and explain the activity of the various groups and actors, a detailed

survey of the main organizations, their activity, strategy, membership, and performance will

be provided (chapter four). Following that, the transition from the first wave of Christian

Right activity to the second one will be described in chapter five, including the presidential

campaign of Pat Robertson in between. The second half of the main part in chapter 6 will

deal with the organizations and activities of the 1990s, it will also address the important

differences between the first and second generation of organizations. Subsequently, the newly

adapted strategies and approaches the Christian Right employed in the second decade of its

existence will be examined, including the increasingly intense connection with the

Republican Party, and the juridical strategy (chapters seven and eight). Finally, a conclusion

will be drawn in chapter nine to s

questions brought up in the introduction, and to evaluate the influence, successes, and failures

the Christian Right has had so far.

1.3 Survey of Existing Literature

Works on Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism are numerous, both specialized theological

and sociological studies (Marsden 2006, Dayton/Johnston 1998, Hochgeschwender 2007,

Smith 2000, Hunter 1983, Pieh 1998), and briefer introductions in works concerned primarily

with Evangelicalism as a political phenomenon (Wilcox 1992; 1996, Brocker 2004, Bruce

2000) exist. The latter works (generally those by political scientists) usually also include

studies about socio-demographic details of Evangelicals.

ce of the Christian Right, its triggers, structure,

and political activity are concerned, the existing literature provides a variety of studies, both

specialized and more general. Broad studies about the Christian Right include Brocker 2004,

Wilcox 1992; 1996, Brown 2002, Bruce 1990; 1995, Green/Guth/Smidt/Kellstedt 1996,

Watson 1997, Oldfield 1997, and Liebman/Wuthnow 1983. More specialized works (e.g.

about single organizations or aspects of the topic) are numerous. A great deal of attention has

been devoted to Evangelicals in election studies (focusing on religion as an influence), and in

9

As already mentioned above, the majority of available literature (especially the

comprehensive studies about the Christian Right) focuses on the time before 2000, there

9 Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung 32.

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seems to be no newer study dealing with the developments in the Christian Right during the

last years. A reference handbook containing short articles on a wide variety of issues related

to political involvement of conservative Christians provides some newer research (Utter/True

2004).

2. An Introduction to Evangelical Protestantism

This chapter will try to shed light on the phenomenon of Evangelicalism in order to provide a

basis for an understanding of this part of Protestantism. The approach taken here will first

provide the theological definition of Evangelicalism, as well as a brief survey of its historical

development, and finally an introduction into the main branches of Evangelicalism. Defining

Evangelicalism is by no means an easy task; the existing literature holds a multitude of

different approaches and explanations,10 making it difficult to find a uniform definition.

11 due to the equivocality of the term and the misunderstandings that might

arise from it; Weber12 and Smith13 hold similar views. Despite these problems of definition,

the term will be used here, in the sense of E

14 of

subgroups, which will be introduced in the following (at least those relevant to the topic).

Evangelicalism predominantly is a Protestant phenomenon (although evangelical Catholics

and even Jews exist),15 and it is important to note that the term here will be used to refer to all

those denominational and non-denominational branches of Protestantism that have developed

out of mainstream Protestantism in the course of the Second Great Awakening (ca. 1800-

10 See for instance Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung; Dayton/Johnston; Hochgeschwender; and Smith, American

Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving.

11 Dayton, Donald W. "Some Doubts about the Usefulness of the Category "Evangelical"". The Variety of American

Evangelicalism. Eds. Donald W. Dayton, and Robert K. Johnston. Eugene (OR), Pasadena: Wipf and Stock Publishers,

1997. 245 251. 245.

12 Weber, Timothy P. "Premillenialism and the Branches of Evangelicalism". The Variety of American Evangelicalism. Ed.

Donald W. Dayton, and Robert K. Johnston. Eugene (OR), Pasadena: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1997. 5 21. 13.

13 Smith, Christian. Christian America?: What Evangelicals Really Want. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.

15.

14 Johnston, Robert K. "American Evangelicalism: An Extended Family". The Variety of American Evangelicalism. Eds.

Donald W. Dayton, and Robert K. Johnston. Eugene (OR), Pasadena: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1997. 252 269. 252.

15 Hunter, James Davison. American Evangelicalism: Conservative Religion and the Quandary of Modernity. New

Brunswick (NJ): Rutgers University Press, 1983. 139-140.

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1840,16 the first one had taken place around 174017).18 Evangelicalism first and foremost

describes nothing more than a Christian piety

ority, but the

(from

within mainline Protestantism, which refers to established denominations, like

Presbyterianism, Methodism, Baptism, and others),19 in the course of which a personal

relationship with Jesus Christ and the acceptance of Christ as a messianic Redeemer were

emphasized.20 The experience of accepting Jesus Christ as Redeemer is one collective

characteristic shared by all (white) Evangelical

(although not all evangelical churches use this term, which might make this criterion too

narrow).21 Basically, these criteria (following Hunter)22 can be used to identify Evangelicals:

1. Accepting the Bible as inerrant and the word of God

2.

3. The Belief

soul possible

Even at this basic point, various definitions of what Evangelicals are defined by can be found

of four points can be found elsewhere,23 which gives an idea of how difficult it is to find a

uniform definition. In the following, an important aspect (which would have consequences

concerning the Evangelical relation to politics) of Evangelicalism will be explored:

millennialism. A great majority of evangelical preachers of the eighteenth and nineteenth

century adhered to postmillennialism and believed that the second coming of Christ was

imminent (derived from the Revelation to John, 20, 1-15).24 The opposite of

postmillennialism is premillennianism, to which only one evangelical denomination of the

16 Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung 38.

17 Hochgeschwender 86.

18 Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung 38; Hochgeschwender 23-24.

19 Brocker, Protest - Anpassung - Etablierung 61.

20 Hochgeschwender 23.

21 Wilcox, Onward Christian Soldiers? The Religious Right in American Politics 45; and Wilcox,

43.

22 Hunter 7.

23 Kellstedt, Lyman A., et al. "The Puzzle of Evangelical Protestantism: Core, Periphery, and Political Behavior". Religion

and the Culture Wars: Dispatches from the Front. Eds. John C. Green, James L. Guth, Corwin E. Smidt, and Lyman A.

Kellstedt. Boulder, CO: Rowman and Littlefield, 1996. 240-266. 244.

24 Hochgeschwender 96.

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