The Religious Right In The 1970's

1094 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Religion shaping political culture

Since the 1970’s, the Religious Right has been a force to be reckoned with in American society, much to the chagrin of progressives. Although religion has always played some role in American culture going back to the founding of the nation, the history and tactics of the religious right explain why they have gained such a foothold in recent times. First, an analysis of the Religious Right requires an understanding of their origins. The modern Religious Right is mostly comprised of orthodox white evangelical Christians who became enraged at the rapid social changes that occurred in American society by the 1960’s such as the ruling for the removal of organized prayer in schools, the stoppage of southern segregation, protests against the Vietnam War, challenges to the traditional roles of women, and the so-called sexual revolution (Brown 20). These …show more content…

One of these individuals is 700 Club and Christian Coalition founder Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson. A former drinker, womanizer, and gambler, Robertson was able to use his charisma to become one of the most viewed televangelists, reaching out to an estimated 110 million viewers in the 1970’s with his is Christian Broadcasting Network (Utter and Storey 109). In 1987, Robertson even entered the Republican presidential race (18 Hadden and Shupe). Another prominent leader was Jerry Falwell, who used fund-raising to generate a million dollars a week and, with the assistance of conservative political strategists, later founded a political organization for the Religious Right called the Moral Majority (Utter and Storey 85). These leaders and other firebrands use the power of the pulpit to rally the Religious Right to battle the issues seen as against traditional Christian

Show More
Related

  • Touchdown Jesus by Robert Laurence Moore

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moore does not devote much of his attention to religious ideas. Instead, he examines several different instances of the blending of the sacred and the profane in popular American culture. Moore narrates the direct and indirect effects of the public display of religion for both sacreds and seculars. History, lifestyle, work, education, government, music, sporting events, marketplace, literature, and womanhood influence people. He also brings up how religion can influence racial militancy and terrorism that threaten equality, domestic security, and national identity.

    Read More

  • The Democratization of American Christianity

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    New brands of distinctly American Christianity began developing early in the country’s history. Before the revolution, George Whitefield set the stage for American religious movements. The most important factor that helped launch these movements was the American Revolution. The country was ripe with conversation and action on a new understanding of freedom. The revolution “expanded the circle of people who considered themselves capable of thinking for themselves about issues of … equality, sovereignty, and representation” (6). The country was beginning to move toward an understanding of strength lying in the common people, and the people’s ability to make their own personal decisions on issues of leadership and authority. There was a common belief that class structure was the major societal problem. The revolution created the an open environment that pushed equality of the individual, allowing political and religious beliefs to flourish and grow without being held in check by authoritarian leaders.

    Read More

  • Misconceptions Of Politics In Amanda Porterfield's Conceived In Doubt

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the biggest misconceptions of today’s society is that politics is run by pure fact and argument, with no spiritual aspect. However, Amanda Porterfield verifies in her novel Conceived in Doubt that this statement is pretentious and false. Amanda Porterfield takes us back to the time of early government structure and development. This era in the United States is in a stage of constant change and reformation. The United States could even be argued as blind by their religious views, affecting their morals and well-being for the future of the nation. In her novel, Porterfield stresses that the government is in no way free of the church’s principles and deserts the attempt to break the bond.

    Read More

  • Conservative Movements Of The 1960s

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960s and 1970s helped shape the conservative movement to grow in popularity and allowed conservatives to enjoy modern benefits such as economic prosperity and consumerism without conforming to liberal ideologies. The period of strong conservative support, the 1960s, usually refers to the time frame between 1964 through 1974. The grass roots mobilization started strong with the help of Orange County's middle-class men and women volunteers. The effort and hard work of these people along with economic support from businesses such as the National Review helped to spread conservative philosophy. Other contributions to the effort include community meetings, film showing, handing out pamphlets, and Fred Schwarz's school of anti-communism to inform Southern Californians of communist threat. Among anti-communism, conservatives also believe in the importance of religion, a restrictive government role, upholding traditional American values, and private business prosperity. The ethos upheld by long-time residents along with a heavy migration of people who would later join right-wing conservatism made Orange County the ideal location to enrich and expand the movement.

    Read More

  • One Nation, Under God

    2046 Words  | 5 Pages

    With sounds of youthful laughter, conversations about the students’ weekends, and the shuffling of college ruled paper; students file into their classrooms and find their seats on a typical Monday morning. As the announcements travel throughout the school’s intercoms, the usual “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance” becomes no longer usual but rather puzzling to some students. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.” Confusion passes through some of the student’s minds. With the reoccurrence of “God” in the backdrop of American life, the relationship between church and state has become of little to no matter for American citizens just as it has with American students. While congress makes no law respecting an establishment of religion, the term “freedom of religion” presents itself to no longer be the definition of “free”, while also having its effects on debates today. According to Burt Rieff, in Conflicting Rights and Religious Liberty, “Parents, school officials, politicians, and religious leaders entered the battle over defining the relationship between church and state, transforming constitutional issues into political, religious, and cultural debates” (Rieff). Throughout the 20th century, many have forgotten the meaning of religion and what its effects are on the people of today. With the nonconformist society in today’s culture, religion has placed itself in a category of insignificance. With the many controversies of the world, religion is at a stand still, and is proven to not be as important as it was in the past. Though the United States government is based on separation of church and state, the gover...

    Read More

  • Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America by James Davison Hunter

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    The new shift in cultural acceptance of the times has changed the culture war. Many Americans argue that “there is a religious war going on in this country, a cultural war as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America” (Fiorina). However, some argue that the culture war is only based on small differences between the Democrats and Republicans. The issue at hand is how divided the American public is today and how much time is spent on this polarization. This division is not just a small difference in parties, but more a difference in moral and religious issues.

    Read More

  • The Hippie and Other Movements in The 1970s

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 1970s was a tumultuous time in the United States. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and other marginalized people continued to fight for their freedom, while many other Americans joined in the demonstration against the ongoing war in Vietnam. Due to these movements, the 1970s saw changes in its national identity, including modifications in social values. These social changes showed up in the fashion industry as well, delivering new outlooks in the arenas of both men’s and women’s clothing.

    Read More

  • Confronting Theofascism In The Usa

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once Christian Dominionism is seen for what it is––a fascist-leaning movement that seeks to regulate and legislate our morals, our beliefs, and our love––it is our responsibility to challenge it in a manner that matches the seriousness and importance of this threat. Education, vigils, dialogue, and other "peaceful" gatherings certainly have their place, but they are not enough. A message must be sent to Friends of the Family, Dobson, Bauer and their followers that authoritarian vision and has no place on our air waves, on our television screens, in seats of illegitimate power, or in our city.

    Read More

  • The New Right

    1588 Words  | 4 Pages

    By adding social issues to the conservative agenda, the New Right weakened the establishment’s movement, contradicting and discrediting its fundamental principles. The new social agenda contradicted Old Right’s belief in limited government and individual rights. Today, the New Right continues to grow and the Christian Right continues to gain political power. Republican candidates are considered politically dead unless they secure the support of the Christian Coalition. Before the New Right comes to embody “conservativism” within American political discourse, Old Right conservatives must discard the dissenter’s social initiatives and reclaim the establishment’s conservative agenda: remove the New Right’s social agenda, return to establishment’s conservative ideals, and develop policies based on limited government, free market, and individual liberty.

    Read More

  • 1970s Religion and Policies for Today

    3124 Words  | 7 Pages

    I vividly remember sitting in my ninth grade world history class, only six short years ago, when my teacher announced that next week we would begin a four week study on world religions. A nervous murmur swept through thirty students, all thinking the

    Read More

  • Joel Osteen's Theory Of Televangelism

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    America and the institution of religion have long complexly intertwined histories, but no religion is more intertwined, nor has played a greater role in the foundation of America and its ideals than Christianity. The relationship between American nationhood and Christianity is so strong that it continues to seep into American culture and legislation centuries after its founding. It is for this reason that the modern evangelical Christian practice of televangelism emerged and thrived for much of modern American history, and, subsequently, became a profound and concentrated embodiment of American values and ideals. No televangelist provides a more compelling or relevant example of televangelism than Joel Osteen, the millionaire pastor and figurehead

    Read More

  • Impact Of The New Christian Right

    438 Words  | 1 Pages

    The New Christian Right was a conservative force that had grew and spread rapidly in the United States in recent thirty or forty years. It had a feature which was having the strong support for the conservative society and political values. The New Christian Right was grouped by thousands of Americans of integrity, various Right wing institutions, organizations and media, all kinds of Christian Right leaders and politicians, and its Infrastructure of the Right-wing ideology.

    Read More

  • Is Religious Fundamentalism Always Totalitarian and Prone to Violence?

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291). To be a fundamentalist is to wholly believe in the doctrine they are preaching or professing and will go to any lengths possible to have these beliefs implemented by their government , even using force or violence ( Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 149). All religions have a fundamentalist element, however, there is more of a significant conflict with Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists. It is wrongly thought fundamentalism is exclusively linked to Islamic fundamentalist such as the jihadi group al-Qaeda nonetheless Christianity is the world's largest religion and is bond to have some fundamentalist component such as the Christian New Right in the Unites States of America (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150).

    Read More

  • The Reluctant Fundamentalist

    2167 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a taut and engaging piece of fiction, exploring the growing chasm between the East and the West. Mohsin Hamid has used a rather unique narrative mode- the dramatic monologue –and used it skillfully to weave an account of a young Pakistani’s class aspirations and inner struggle in corporate America. Throughout the novel, Hamid maintains a tense atmosphere, an atmosphere of imminent danger and radical violence. What results from the two devices is an allegorical reconstruction of post-9/11 tensions, and an inflective young man’s infatuation and disenchantment with America.

    Read More

  • The Role of Religion in Politics

    2726 Words  | 6 Pages

    The role of religion in politics is a topic that has long been argued, and has contributed to the start of wars, schisms (both political and religious), and other forms of inter and intra-state conflict. This topic, as a result of its checkered past, has become quite controversial, with many different viewpoints. One argument, put forth by many people throughout history, is that religion and the government should remain separate to avoid any conflicting interests. This view also typically suggests that there is one, or several, large and organized religions like the Roman Catholic Church, which would be able to use their “divine” authority to sway the politics of a given state by promising or threatening some form of godly approval or disapproval. By leveraging their divine power, individual figures within a religion, as well as the religion as a whole, could gain secular power for themselves, or over others. A second view, which was developed by many theologians through history, suggests that that without religion there would be a general lack of morality in the people and leaders of a given state, which would give way to poor political decisions that would not be in the interest of the people and perhaps even God (or the gods). This argument, however, does not address the fact that morality can exist without religion. In sociology, it is commonly accepted that social norms, which include morality, can result from any number of things. Religion, laws, or the basic desire of survival can all create these norms, so it suffices to say that as a society, our morals reflect our desire to live in relative peace through the creation of laws that serve to help us to survive. The argument of whether or not religion and politics should mix...

    Read More

More about The Religious Right In The 1970's

Open Document