Onward Christian Soldiers?: The Religious Right in American Politics

by Wilcox,Clyde

• ISBN13: 9780813344539
• ISBN10: 0813344530
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-27
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

They have money, influence, power--and they turn out to vote. "They" are groups like Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, and Concerned Women for America--all parts of the Christian Right. But, are they a serious threat to religious liberty, bent on creating a theocratic state, or the last defenders of religion and family values in America? Bringing the story of the religious right up to the Obama administration, this revised fourth edition explores the history of the movement in twentieth and early twenty-first century American politics. The authors review the expansion of the Christian Right through George W. Bushrs"s second administration and evaluate how the religious right fared in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Although figureheads of the religious right remain in the news, their power in Washington may be declining, and the authors consider the fate of the religious right under the Obama administration. Examining how the religious right both does and does not fit into the proper role of religious groups in American politics,Onward Christian Soldiers?is an essential addition to the Dilemmas in American PoliticsSeries.

Author Biography

Clyde Wilcox is professor of government at Georgetown University. He has published a number of books on religion and politics in the United States and abroad, and on interest group politics, including Interest Groups in American Elections: The New Face of Electioneering and The Values Campaign: The Christian Right in the 2004 Elections. He also writes on gender politics, campaign finance, and the politics of science fiction.

 

Carin Robinson is visiting professor of political science at University of Mary Washington. She has published articles about religion and the Bush presidency, the lobbying of religious groups in state election, and on evangelicals in American politics.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Introduction: The Christian Right in Context	p. 1
What Is the Christian Right?	p. 8
The Controversy	p. 13
The First Amendment and Church and State	p. 18
Religion and Politics in America	p. 21
A Culture War?	p. 26
Conclusion and Overview of the Book	p. 27
Revivals and Revolution: The Christian Right in Twentieth-Century America	p. 29
The Fundamentalist Religious Revolt	p. 31
The Fundamentalist Political Revolt	p. 37
The Anticommunist Crusades	p. 41
The Fundamentalist Right of the 1980s	p. 42
The Robertson Campaign	p. 45
The Christian Right, 1920-1990: Continuity and Change	p. 48
A Second Coming? The Christian Right, 1990-2004	p. 49
The Passing of the Guard: The Christian Right After 2004	p. 54
The Target Constituency of the Christian Right	p. 55
Conclusion	p. 73
The Christian Right in American Politics	p. 75
The Christian Right in the First Decade of the New Millennium	p. 77
Christian Right Action in Electoral Politics	p. 100
Lobbying Government	p. 123
Conclusion	p. 138
Assessing the Christian Right	p. 139
Why Do People Support or Join the Christian Right?	p. 142
The Christian Right and American Democracy	p. 147
The Christian Right Agenda: Is It Radical or Mainstream?	p. 157
Conclusion	p. 175
The Future of the Christian Right	p. 177
Can the Christian Right Expand?	p. 181
Can the Christian Right Come to Power?	p. 188
Premillennialists in the New Millennium	p. 201
Conclusion	p. 202
Discussion Questions	p. 207
Glossary	p. 209
Notes	p. 215
References	p. 223
Index	p. 235
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.