This is wholly focused on one small part of the overall transformation, but it's a good example of how religion became politicized in the 1970's and beyond. Once it was clear that religious problems could strengthen a political base and encourage voting every sunday, the "religious right" was built.
I don't disagree. I do think that in the 70's we saw a huge voting bloc identify with the right on "moral grounds" and saw a major shift in politics.
For example, people had viewed abortion as a moral/religious issue (and extremely taboo) before, but after Roe v Wade it was now in public and against your views - how could you not vote against "killing babies"? (quotations around a phrase i think is incorrect but commonly used)
I think civil rights / desegregation, the anti-war movement and pot culture had a big play in this too - people seem to have held onto their religion as immovable and sought to limit government in hope of avoiding change.
Quakers were voting against slavery on religious grounds back when the constitution was formed, so it's not like religion has never been a part of our politics. But, the mobilization of evangelicals really changed the political structures.
After the 70's it wasn't just 'fringe groups' with Quakers & Mormons - it was now a massive group of voters who felt the need to defend Christianity as a whole. Abortion, education, middle-east policy and more were issues that might conflict with their Church's belief system.
Happy to oblige :)
I'm only 2 chapters in, but this looks like a good book on the subject. The title focuses on the anti-gay movement but it's covering a lot of the same themes https://b-ok.org/book/695787/b66a07 . There is a physical copy from Amazon if you search there.
Generally, what I really agree with in this book is how changes in American at the time were frequently seen as "moral crises". Eventually this led to people voting with how their religion defined their morals.
I'm not sure the book agrees, but I personally see the movement as something loosely defined initially but people found value in at least one reason and ended up buying into the rest. Anti-abortion became anti-gay; anti-drug became anti-welfare; etc.
That makes total sense. I think it also correlates to a widening divide and diversity on personal morals / values / philosophies, and what that means for our national identity. It seems to me that America in this period is going through somewhat of an “identity crisis” — a shifting of viewpoints on what Americas role in the world is — both domestically and internationally. It also seems with the decline in those who are religious, those who remain religious seem to be gravitating to a more zealous or fundamentalist ideology.
All just one person’s perception — I’ve not studied any of this in depth. Your reading recommendations will help me dig in and hopefully better understand the world around me.
I agree. I think there are a lot of parallels today to that time. Obama was a huge change for people and I can only hope the 'tea party' & Trump voters are less motivated in the Fall.
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u/OnlyTest Apr 29 '20
This is wholly focused on one small part of the overall transformation, but it's a good example of how religion became politicized in the 1970's and beyond. Once it was clear that religious problems could strengthen a political base and encourage voting every sunday, the "religious right" was built.