Religion-politics relationship before the Religious Right? (Iraq, generation, Reagan, accuse)
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I am wayyyy too young to have been around and remember this period of history, so I'd like to hear some perspective from people who were old enough to remember what the relationship between politicians and organized religion was like before the rise of the American "Religious Right." Let's trace that development to the middle to later 1970's, sometime after Roe v. Wade became law in 1973.
As a Generation Y kid, the only model that I know is something like this: the Republicans accuse the Democrats of wanting to destroy any trace of spirituality in the country, along with sending gangs of militant atheists to burn down your local church; and the Democrats accuse the Republicans of wanting to send the Morality Gestapo into your bedroom to verify the purity of your sexual practices, while in the long term planning to deport all non-Christians.
Slight exaggeration , but you get my point...the debate is full of vitriol, pure hatred for the other side, and a replay of the same old tried-and-true divisions. Yes, the Republicans have become a more religious party; the Democrats, a more secular one. But sometimes, I wonder if politics and religion "played better together" before what happened in the latter half of the 70's. But am I wrong? Was it even worse before then? Since we were an even more Christian nation back then, how often did religion enter into the political scene relative to today?
I am wayyyy too young to have been around and remember this period of history, so I'd like to hear some perspective from people who were old enough to remember what the relationship between politicians and organized religion was like before the rise of the American "Religious Right." Let's trace that development to the middle to later 1970's, sometime after Roe v. Wade became law in 1973.
Don't feel bad, the religious right has been around far longer than most posters on this thread.
I am wayyyy too young to have been around and remember this period of history, so I'd like to hear some perspective from people who were old enough to remember what the relationship between politicians and organized religion was like before the rise of the American "Religious Right." Let's trace that development to the middle to later 1970's, sometime after Roe v. Wade became law in 1973.
As a Generation Y kid, the only model that I know is something like this: the Republicans accuse the Democrats of wanting to destroy any trace of spirituality in the country, along with sending gangs of militant atheists to burn down your local church; and the Democrats accuse the Republicans of wanting to send the Morality Gestapo into your bedroom to verify the purity of your sexual practices, while in the long term planning to deport all non-Christians.
Slight exaggeration , but you get my point...the debate is full of vitriol, pure hatred for the other side, and a replay of the same old tried-and-true divisions. Yes, the Republicans have become a more religious party; the Democrats, a more secular one. But sometimes, I wonder if politics and religion "played better together" before what happened in the latter half of the 70's. But am I wrong? Was it even worse before then? Since we were an even more Christian nation back then, how often did religion enter into the political scene relative to today?
The Religious Right as we know it today started to an extent under Reagan but really picked up steam in the 1990s. The religious right backed Carter in 1976 and there were plenty who voted for Clinton in 1992 and 1996. George W. Bush solidified the religious base as Republican by running on issues that greatly appealed to people of faith in a time when religious people were disgusted by Bill Clinton's moral conduct in the White House.
The culture war and hatred between the religious and secularists however didn't escalate to its current state until the last 4 years, and a few things made that happen.
1. The gay issue. Bush and Republicans ran their campaign in 2004 on the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and the up and coming generation is passionately supportive of homosexuals and their agenda.
2. The Westboro Baptist Church - the left has been successful of using this caricature to paint the religious right in a very negative light, and many young people who don't have much exposure to religion believe this is how religious people believe.
3. Iraq - The religious right was extremely supportive of the unpopular war with many declaring it a mission from God. All the support from the religious made them look like hypocrites and discredited them.
So basically, abortion has been a hot button issue for a long time, but its the Iraq War and the gay issue that has really angered the left towards religion. Couple this with the fact Bush, being the "faith" candidate, has left this country in such a mess.
bchris02 is correct; The mix of religion and politics did not occur until Gay Marriage and Abortion took the center stage in politics - a place where it really doesn't belong. For the most part, you didn't profoundly hear about religion in politics until just prior to the Clinton years. Unable to counter the charisma buildup of Reagan and the coattail rider that was Bush Sr., the Democrats began attacking religion in subtle ways. In response, the Republicans interpreted this as the Left attacking traditional values - hence the Secular/Spiritual divide we see now.
But, I find the "Religious Right" to be a gross exaggeration/conspiracy theory anyways. It definately ranks among the most overused political terminology these days.
I agree with Bchris...Well, I was born in 1981, but I'll share my insight.
I know manyolder christians who say that Carter was the last Democrat they voted for (for pres.) I even read that Jerry Falwell himself once thought that christians should stay out of politics.
But Carter was a novelty because he was an evangelical. In fact, 1976 was called "The year of the evangelical" because it was the first year that we became a voice in politics. Before this time the general opinion, even among conservatives, was that christians should stay out of something as worldly as politics. But the seed was planted with Roe v. Wade and a general backlash against the 60s, and it grew from there.
I first remember hearing the term "religious right" in the 90s when I was in high school and made the connection that "good" christians didn't vote for Democrats because they were perceived as "anti-christian". I think it reached a fever pitch in 2004. One of the big problems that the Dems had was that they were seen as "too secular"
bchris02 is correct; The mix of religion and politics did not occur until Gay Marriage and Abortion took the center stage in politics
That's simply historically untrue. The "religious right" then headed by the Catholic Church was front and center in conflating the defense of Christianity with the fight against the godless Communist well before even Joe McCarthy.
That's simply historically untrue. The "religious right" then headed by the Catholic Church was front and center in conflating the defense of Christianity with the fight against the godless Communist well before even Joe McCarthy.
But there wasn't a huge atheist outcry until at least the 1960s, and it remained relatively small until the 1990s. Back then, people were more accepting of the Judeo-Christian traditions in this country and didn't throw a big fit about it like they do today. Even if they didn't believe, they could at least respect the fact that most of the country did.
And communism was hardly a divisive issue among mainstream America like abortion and gay marriage. Its not like we had 50% or even 30% of the American population supporting a communist regime in the United States.
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, but you get my point...the debate is full of vitriol, pure hatred for the other side, and a replay of the same old tried-and-true divisions. Yes, the Republicans have become a more religious party; the Democrats, a more secular one. But sometimes, I wonder if politics and religion "played better together" before what happened in the latter half of the 70's. But am I wrong? Was it even worse before then? Since we were an even more Christian nation back then, how often did religion enter into the political scene relative to today?
