It was a bad deal from the beginning but it was so tempting. Back in the 1970s Evangelical Christians, put off by many policies enacted by both Democrats and Republicans and led by men like Jerry Falwell, Jim Bakker, Pat Robertson, James Robison and Francis Schaefer began a political-religious movement to take back the country. They were joined by others such as James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Ralph Reed and espoused many of the beliefs of the theocracy minded Christian Reconstruction movement.
They emphasized certain “Biblical values” of being anti-abortion and anti-gay but ignored many more Christian values because they were part of the “social Gospel.” Likewise as the movement grew it began to absorb and bless the abject greed and inhumanity of economic Social Darwinism embodied in the writings of the Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand and her economic disciple Alan Greenspan. Additionally they embraced a quasi-Pagan un-Biblical and anti-Christian view of the United States as a nation ordained by God to rule the world that is little different from the warmongering tyrants in Germany that were so instrumental in causing the devastation of both World Wars, the rise of Fascism, Stalinism and Naziism.
Conservative political figures beginning with Ronald Reagan recognized the value of this new voting bloc and within a few years the “religious right” was an integral part of conservative politics. Beholden to the new promises of Republican politicians each electoral cycle to reverse Roe v. Wade, appoint Godly or pro-Christian judges and “make America great again” Christians went to the polls, organized and became more a part of the Republican machine. By the early 2000s they finally thought that they had made the big time by helping secure the electoral victories of George W Bush.
Now the problem was that every time a new Republican President was elected, or a Republican majority in Congress put in place little or nothing ever happened to advance the causes that Christians voted for Republican politicians to enact. Instead there were wonderful words of support and promises, but nothing changed. Abortion remained legal, gays got more rights and Christians became more frustrated and lined up time and time again to vote in the same men that promised everything and delivered nothing.
Finally after the election of Barak Obama as President the anger and frustration boiled over. In 2010 Evangelicals helped elect a solidly Republican House of Representatives and hoped that that momentum would carry over into the 2012 Presidential election. Evangelical preachers and pundits joined by the Roman Catholic Bishops threw away any pretense of independence. Christian leaders became the most vocal and vicious critics of the President often espousing some of the most outlandish and paranoid conspiracy theories to make thier point. In the Spring of 2012 when they could not get an Evangelical or Catholic nominated for the Republican race they raced to support a man that just weeks before many had been calling a non-Christian religious cultist who they distrusted because of his multiple positions on every issue including abortion rights and gay rights.
Led on by Karl Rove, the Bush strategist who used them to help secure the Bush Presidency while mocking them behind their backs along with other senior Republican strategists in the administration they doubled down in their support for the Republican nominee and candidates at every level. Candidates who marketed themselves as Evangelicals and Catholics became the most extreme and absurd acts in the political circus and prevented Republicans from winning back the Senate and lose seats in the House.
As the race reached its crescendo the stridency of Evangelical and Catholic church and media leaders sacrificed all credibility with Franklin Graham threw his father the venerable Billy Graham under the bus in endorsing Mitt Romney. When they did so they franticly scrubbed references to Mormonism as a cult from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website as fast as they could and then made major ad buys in swing state newspapers. Catholic Bishops like Bishop Jenky insinuated that voting for Obama and Democrats could endanger the mortal souls of believers. Not to be outdone, former Governor of Arkansas, GOP political pundit and seminary dropout Mike Huckabee made similar comments in the week before the election. Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation like Rick Joyner were actually quoting Mormon prophecies in order get Christians to vote for Romney as the savior of the country.
In the end the election came and went. President Obama was re-elected by a bigger margin than George Bush defeated John Kerry or Al Gore. The Democrats gained seats in the Senate including seats in Indiana and Missouri that were theirs for the taking due to the abject stupidity of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, solidifying their advantage in that chamber. The Democrats appear to have gained seats in the House. In some state elections Gay marriage laws were enacted or upheld, attempts to defund certain abortion providers met defeat.
And what did Evangelicals get? Let’s see…. Evangelicals and Catholics have now gotten Christians labeled as hypocritical, insincere, anti-gay, sheltered and too political. Christians are now being viewed as the guardians of wealth and privilege just as State churches that dominated Europe that our Christian ancestors fled from were viewed.
This was much more than a tactical and possibly strategic defeat for the Republican Party. More importantly it was a generational loss for Christians and the Church. The country will survive, but the political dominance and privilege enjoyed by the institutional churches will rapidly fade and this is due to demographics and the reality that people don’t believe us anymore. They still pretty much like Jesus, but they don’t like his followers. Somehow I think that Mark Twain might have been right when he said “If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be — a Christian.”
Maybe with some real reflection and pondering and obeying of the commands of the Gospel, not just the ones that we like or help us politically that we will regain some sense of honor and allow people to actually hear that message again. That message at the heart of the Gospel, that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, and in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself counting men’s sins not against them….
Many Evangelicals and Catholics led by power hungry leaders more interested in political and economic power willingly sold their birthright and didn’t even get a bowl of soup in return. It is time to question the motives of those leaders and rethink the disastrous political alliances made by them for the past 35 years.
The 2012 election was to paraphrase the late Francis Schaefer the Great Evangelical Disaster.
Peace
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Are you certain about this…? 🙂 Excellent insight and spot-on!
I had a huge problem with the religious “flip-flop” done in order to support Mitt Romney. I’ve spoken with a wide variety of folk in the aftermath of the election, and that is one key topic pointed to many who jumped over the GOP fence and voted for Obama. While “victory at any cost” is a loathsome concept, it seems to be readily accepted for politics, but NOT for religion. To see religious leaders backtracking wildly to support someone they were viciously attacking a few weeks before smacks of political opportunism – something that should be anathema to religion.
Of course, another strong aversion point was when the gent who financed Newt Gingrich, and made a scathing “documentary” about Mitt and Bain Capital rampaging across the economic landscape, promptly switched to supporting Mitt when he got the Republican nod, and promised $100 million to defeat Obama. Granted, that’s not a religious topic – unless you count worshiping greed as a religion. (Paging Mr. Gecko. Paging Mr. Gordon Gecko. 😀 )
Excellent. I ended up leaving my own church this past month after the pastor started preaching Reconstructionist b.s. as if it really were the word of God. You have very eloquently written my thoughts here.
Good article, but I would like to introduce you to something called a comma. Also, the correct spelling of “their.”
I’m usually better with commas and the spelling of “their.” I personally like the semi-colon as a way to keep a sentence going and as my wife can testify have always had a terrible problem with my “their” spelling. But thanks for pointing it out. I’ll have to check my spell check more often or possibly recalibrate my Mad Cow infected brain…;)
Excellent summary of the last 35 years!
Reblogged this on Pensées by Sid and commented:
So true.
Christianity is dooomed… Satin has won, come on over the water is warm.
Excellent summary it has captured all my sentiments concerning the religious right in the past 4 years. I was enamoured of them 10 years ago but watched them drop all pretense at being followers of Christ four years ago when they begin praying death and destruction to the other side. I thought things could not get worse and then the Mormon Bishop became our Brother in Christ and legalistic values trumped the compassion and love of God. That’s when it became obvious to me the Evangelical block were not after the full gospel of Christ in our land/in our lives but political power for it’s own sake. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The hypocrisy of the church has been so hard to swallow and I’ve found it impossible to listen to any more of those right wing preachers. Their fruit is too rotten for my belly. Thanks for your article.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God that which is Gods..
In contradistinction, “In God We Trust” on money is blasphemous, idolatrous, and a completely correct view of what is worshipped today.
No matter if these Christians were right or wrong, they had (and still do) the right to support and vote for whomever they want! I thank God for Godly men and women that take a stand against immorality.
Karen
Thank you for you comment. Please know that I don’t oppose anyone’s rights under the first Amendment, even if I disagree with them. Back in the 1970s until 2007 I could say that I was part of the Religious Right. It took the experience of war, PTSD and being told to leave the very conservative church that I was ordained after that to question the methods, motivations and machinations of the leaders of the movement. The fact is that Evangelicals and conservative Roman Catholics have lost a generation of young believers and seekers because of the gross political partisanship and desire for control of the power of the state to suppress the rights of other citizens who don’t agree with them.
That is the fact. It is unpleasant and it strikes at the heart. But it is true.
Blessings and peace,
Padre Steve+
Thank Lori Potter for forwarding this to me on Twitter. I USUALLY don’t care to read about the political/religious landscape …but with the election just over..I thought I would take a chance and see what you had to say. Very interesting….and I subscribed to you on my email account. I, being a Christian myself often WONDER why some who call themselves Christians don’t follow the command Jesus said was the “MOST IMPORTANT” and focus on/become obsessed with other’s viewpoints/practices to the point of exclusion of all else in the bible. To each his own…. I will be reading more of your tweets/articles/emails/viewpoints.
I find it disgusting that the various religious organizations were willing to spend millions of dollars – gathered from tithing congregations – on political actions vs using the funds to help their own communities suffering under Wall Street’s choreographed economic collapse.
Sad huh?
Yes! Thank you for speaking out. I couldn’t agree more. It is a travesty what so many churches and their leaders have done to harm the faith at a time when we can’t afford to lose ground. To me, this is a far greater sin than their token sins of immorality that they have made the center of their stand against immorality. Amazing they don’t view dishonesty and abandonment of “the least of these” as immoral, isn’t it!?
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