Posted on 11/07/2004 1:52:06 PM PST by hipaatwo
Social-values issues aside, they are a diverse group, an evangelical activist and political scientist insist.
By Jim Remsen
Inquirer Faith Life Editor
Ron Sider has what he hopes is good news to counter the "liberal hysteria" over evangelical Christians' bonding with President Bush, an alliance evident in Tuesday's election turnout.
"Evangelicals," said the Eastern Baptist Seminary professor and evangelical activist, "are not nearly as scary as some people think."
Sider notes that 55 percent of U.S. evangelicals - who number about 50 million - favor strict environmental regulations, and 45 percent think homosexuals should have the same civil rights as others. Forty-three percent say the middle class should be taxed to fight poverty, and 29 percent support more government spending.
The figures Sider cited Friday were drawn from a broad survey of American religious attitudes that the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life compiled in the spring.
Both Sider and the Pew survey's author, political scientist John Green, said the rise of the same-sex-marriage movement galvanized evangelical voters across the board and put an unusual emphasis on social-values issues this year.
"If you could make the social issues disappear," Green said, "evangelicals would not be solidly Republican, because on other issues they are fairly diverse."
Evangelicals do share certain religious tenets. Green, a University of Akron professor, cited four core beliefs.
Foremost is that salvation comes through Jesus alone ("a lot of Christians believe that, but evangelicals are adamant about it"). They also hold "a very high view of the authority of Scripture" as inerrantly true. They believe "you cannot be born into salvation" but must have a personal conversion, meaning to be "born again." Finally, they believe one must make converts, or evangelize ("a lot of churches are missionary, but evangelicals give it a special emphasis").
The most prominent evangelical groups are the Southern Baptists and the many other Baptist denominations; Pentecostals such as the Assemblies of God; and the burgeoning nondenominational churches.
In addition, Green said, 5 percent of American adults are "traditional Mainline Protestants" who share evangelicals' faith views "and often make common cause" with them.
This affinity across denominations has increased in the last 40 years, Green said, as the "tremendous tensions" with Roman Catholics and Mainline Protestants has generally given way to an appreciation for like-minded conservatives wherever they are in the Christian fold.
Green found that evangelicals fall loosely into three camps. There are traditionalists (48 percent of the total), who have the highest level of orthodox belief and attend church regularly; modernists (41 percent), who attend church less regularly and adopt some modern beliefs; and centrists (11 percent), who fall in between.
Green and Sider noted that the moderate camps outnumber the traditionalists and are growing. Sider said political moderates - who are spread across the three groups - are working to broaden the scope of evangelical concerns.
The National Association of Evangelicals adopted a landmark statement last month calling its 30 million members to have "a biblically balanced concern that reflects the full range of God's concerns for the well-being of marriage, the family, the sanctity of human life, justice for the poor, care for creation, peace, freedom and racial justice."
The statement, which Sider helped draft, said that "no longer dare one accuse evangelicals of being 'one-issue' voters focused exclusively on one or two issues."
Many evangelicals align tightly with the Republicans and will "push their agenda hard" with the Bush administration, Green said, although others "completely understand the need for compromise."
Sider said the growing political sophistication was evident in evangelical lobbyists' successful efforts during Bush's first term to implement initiatives including one against sexual trafficking, on which they worked with feminist groups
Thank G-d for the Evangelical voters. I can't beleive secular jews sold out Israel like this. Please keep in mind 80% of orthodox jewish voters voted for Bush, ;)
Yes, but the neoscumbagcommunists have to depict them as being mean, nasty and extremely unreasonable otherwise they have to admit they were beat by a bunch of reasonable folks who were able to anaylze and see through their mendacity and the fact that they headed their ticket with a lazy, empty suit flaming, worthless liberal!
I'd like to see the wording of the poll question behind this statement.
Many Koreans are Evangelical Christians. I know this from personally experience. The largest Evangelical church is in South Korea.
I'd like to see the wording of the poll question behind this statement.
Homosexuals are subject to the same marriage laws as the rest of us. Therefore, they have the same civil rights.
i get a kick out of telling my democrat-voting family that we (my husband and i) are "those right-wing conservatives" that they are so afraid of... they never seem to believe me...
It is fun to watch these articles in which evangelicals range from 30 to 70 million Americans. It seems that New Yorkers woke up on Nov.3 and found all these cockroaches in bed with them, somewhat like in Joe's Apartment.
For questionable and bizarre reasons (we suspect the fear of modern Salem witch hunts and the fantasy of cranking up the Spanish Inquisition again), evangelicals are the New Yorkers worst nightmare, even worse than Uncle Osama who blew their twin towers down.
Somebody ought to tell those maroons that they've been watching too many of the The Omen and Halloween movies. They need get out more often, that is, out as in "Explore America, you bigoted idiots!". They really disguest me, they know nothing, and fear everything.
Moral values, law and order based on solid christian values are a scary thing? Who knew? I'd have never thought that, charity, love thy neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, etc. were scrary, horrible things;
Unless you were a murdering, child molesting thief. Is that what the left are saying they are? Is that why they fear the "evangelical"? It seems so, because clearly they are saying they don't represent the same values.
Gay men are NOT discriminated against. They are free to marry any woman they can persuade to accept their proposal same as heterosexual men.............
Agreed....I have a hard time believing that 55% of any persuasion believe gays' civil rights ought to be restricted.
The phrase from the article sounds suspiciously like a 'poison pill' designed to refute the rest of the argument to those who might otherwise be persuaded.
Sorta like, 'guess what! less than two-thirds of southerns are Klan members -- they're not as bad as you think!'
They have ingrained mind-sets, sterotyped thinking, prejudices of millions of other Americans they've never met. We can hope only a minority are that out of touch with reality, but their leading writers read like they've just hijacked the latest Columbian cocaine shipment and sampled all the bags.
The original "Nightmare on Elm Street" for them was having Kerry defeated, and the evil Bush win,. This has resulted in a liberal witchhunt to blame the loss on something, anything but them. They don't want to talk to the opposition, they want it to go away.
"They really disgust me, they know nothing, and fear everything."
I think you have hit on the main problem with Liberals. Their fear of everything. That is why they think the government should rule every aspect of our lifes because then they feel safer. Note how many have said they are really scared since Bush was re-elected. Scared of What? The terrorism that hasn't shown here since 9/11 because of Bush? No, they are scared that because Bush stands up for American interests that somehow we will be attacked more viscously. They want to lie down and hide under the bed and hope it will all go away.
They also refer to Manhattan as "The City" (rather parochial, don't you think?)
I tease my brother-in-law that the "Indians have stopped taking scalps and there are settlements west of the Hudson now!"
Regards,
GtG
You thought wrong! We hide our pointy tails in our pants and brush over our little horns, and our goat hooves are covered up by our shoes!
That's up north somewhere, right?
Ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.