Passionate Population

Natinal Review ^ | Rich Lowry

[bogdanPolska12]

Sorry. They didn't. And it is impossible to understand what seems certain to be the commercial success of The Passion, or — more importantly — to understand American domestic politics and foreign policy without appreciating the number and vigor of America's Christians. They are President Bush's electoral lifeblood, and are driving an era of idealistic American assertion abroad that is literally changing the world.

According to John Green of Akron University, there are 50 million white evangelical Protestants in the United States. There are 20 million black Christians, many of whom are evangelical. There are 50 million Roman Catholics, roughly 30 million of whom are traditional in their beliefs. There are 30 million mainline Protestants, many of whom are theologically liberal, but not all. That makes for — give or take — more than 100 million orthodox Christians, quite an audience base for a film drawn directly from the Gospels.

And they have money to spend. Back in 1993, the Washington Post reported that conservative evangelicals were "largely poor, uneducated and easy to command." Laughable at the time, it is even more so now. Green reports that there has been considerable upward social mobility among evangelicals during the past 30 years. They spend on Christian books (roughly $4 billion a year) and albums ($850 million a year) and, as apparently only Gibson understood in Hollywood, will pay to see a movie that speaks to them.

The silver screen aside, orthodox Christians have an enormous influence on national life through the Bush administration. What trial lawyers are to John Edwards, the orthodox are to Bush — his indispensable political base. According to Green, roughly 75 percent of evangelicals voted for Bush. White evangelicals accounted for as much as 40 percent of his total vote. Another 20 percent came from traditional Catholics and serious mainline Protestants. The Bush presidency should be stamped: "Brought to you by orthodox Christian believers."

It shows. The reinvigorated Wilsonian foreign policy championed by Bush — and motivated less by Woodrow Wilson's secular values (international law, etc.) and more by religious beliefs (the God-given rights of all people) — is a reflection of Bush's Christian base.

As Walter Russell Mead writes in his brilliant forthcoming book, Power, Terror, Peace, and War: "The rise in the number of evangelical Protestants, combined with their increasing levels of affluence, political participation and education, suggests that for the next generation at least, we will be witnessing the rise and consolidation of an evangelical establishment that will view America's world role in a different way than the waning and dying mainstream Protestant establishment that once set the Wilsonian agenda."

This dynamic is already evident. The divide with Europe is partly driven by faith, as secular Europeans cringe at American religiosity. America's strong support for Israel is a product of a potent alliance between evangelicals and hawkish Jews. Evangelicals have supported an extraordinary amount of human-rights activism recently on issues from religious persecution to sex trafficking to AIDS. Bush has tapped into that idealism and made it an important aspect of his war on terror.

Domestically, the influence of Bush's orthodox base can be seen in his faith-based initiative, his signing of a partial-birth-abortion ban and his opposition to gay marriage, among other things. The rap against evangelicals used to be that they were intolerant, but they have lately demonstrated their ability to work with conservative Jews and Catholics in a new, powerful traditionalist ecumenism.

The fervor over The Passion has taken many observers by surprise. It shouldn't, and you ain't seen nothing yet.

— Rich Lowry is author of Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years.

(c)2003 King Features Syndicate

 

[bogdanPolska12]

February 24, 2004, 9:07 a.m.
Passionate Population
The media discover America's religious.



America is in the midst of a new Great Awakening. It's the mainstream media, prompted by excitement over the Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ, waking up to the fact that the country still has an enormous block of orthodox Christians. You can sense the bemused astonishment behind some of the press reports: "Didn't all of these people slink away in embarrassment forevermore after the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925?"

My apology Natinal=National and beginning of article.

[EggsAckley]

"Natinal" Review....?

[unspun]

I suppose now we'll see what FReepers are afraid of Christians....

[LiteKeeper]

read later - SOCIOLOGY - RELIGION

[patriciaruth]

As of yesterday, there were 3000 advance ticket sales for The Passion in my rural town in California.

[Yardstick]

Theatres in my area (smallish city, population ~ 200,000) are sold out through Saturday.

[bogdanPolska12]

Well shouldn't we be optimistic. After all life is a gift and we have to be optimistic. Article in my opinion is well written and makes very interesting points. It is liberal media who decided to take on debate and on this debate they will loose. Most people know what true values are; those on left will always question what is right but never what is wrong. This movie is important not because is directed and played by Meil Gibson, rather because it shows 12 hours of agony of God-Man. It shows love has more power then hate and it shows final plan for salvation of people. Reason why it takes place and time of God choosing and is so horrific is because of people sins. Reason why is optimistic because at the end there is resurrection and hope of happiness not in this world but after we pass away.

[bogdanPolska12]

It is not how many people go to a church, rather how many of them go to church from heart and their believe. That is very important to understand. Decline in faith in Western Europe is well documented and well know. It does not mean that those who are truly faithful are gone. Our 1000 you will always have brave ones not many but they are faithful. God does not look into how many rather by how much heart you put to serve him.

[Just mythoughts]

Given that two thirds of this nations didn't have a problem with a pervert president, even reelected him over a real "war hero" not so sure how deep this goes.

9/11 woke up some, but Ten Commandments getting removed, "GOD" removed from the pledge, and now an in your face assault of perverting the institution of MARRIAGE not so sure how much difference this movie will make.

[bogdanPolska12]

I understand your point. It is legitimate and worth noticing However remember one very important thing -- times we are living are not times to debate but to have faith. Think about it you have judges who are corrupting our law and institution of marriage, you have judges who are defying right to live and you have judges who are defending those who create these laws. But I have two new angles in my house twins, I have 3 year old and 2 year old boys, I have a great wife and great family who are religious and that keeps me optimistic and you know why, because after all goodness always is going to win.

[Just mythoughts]

No way do I want to pour cold water on your optimism. There is no doubt who wins this war.

I wanted to point out that many of us have to get shocked before we wake up and see what is being done in our name.

Watching the majority in this nation stand by and support the clintons and their preversion is what strengthen my faith. The majority has never ever been on the right side for very long.

Too many of us trust but never verify. Your optimism is wonderful, just know this is the beginning and we have not seen anything yet.

[bogdanPolska12]

We don't have to see anything yet and you know why? Because we don't have to because we know what we want in life and who to support and why we live for. I agree with you fight is coming and it will not be pretty but as I said before goodness will win have faith my friend let your heart not be trouble too much.