Midterm elections ‘new hour of decision’ for US evangelicals
-06/11/06
Midterm elections ‘new hour of decision’ for US evangelicals
-06/11/06
The midterm elections in the US are being heralded as a ‘new hour of decision’, with suggestions that the evangelical movement is being torn between those who emphasize sexual morality and those who are looking more to poverty, the environment and global health.
In the run up to the midterm elections in the US, 62 percent of evangelicals say that religion plays too small a role in American political and cultural life today, compared to 37 percent of the American public.
The data comes from a poll for the magazine Newsweek, which is featured as part of the November 13 cover package “The Politics of Jesus” which hit newsstands today (Monday).
The poll reports that twenty-six percent of evangelicals say that their top priority this election day will be Iraq, compared to 32 percent of the American public.
Sixteen percent of evangelicals say that terrorism is most important; 13 percent say the economy and 12 percent say health care; 10 percent say immigration; 9 percent say abortion compared to 5 percent of the American public; and 3 percent say stem cell research is at the top of their list.
Despite the evangelical evolution, ‘wedge politics’ are still sharp — from stem cells to gay marriage – reports Senior Editor Lisa Miller in the cover story.
In the current issue, Miller explores the emerging tensions within the evangelical movement between those who emphasize sexual morality and those who are looking more to poverty and global health.
A new generation of evangelical believers is pressing beyond the religious right of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, trying to broaden the movement’s focus from the familiar wars about sex to include issues of social and economic justice.
The result is a new hour of decision for evangelicals, says Newsweek.
Many evangelicals are now part of the establishment they once ran against. George W. Bush credits Billy Graham with saving him from a life of drift and drink. To keep lines of communication open after the 2000 election, the White House began making weekly calls to the evangelical community — an opportunity for Christians to air grievances and make demands.
Chuck Colson, who founded the faith-based group Prison Fellowship after being incarcerated for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, says the evangelical movement has “matured.” Christians have great access to the president, who is interested in a broad range of issues beyond the hot buttons of abortion and same-sex marriage, he says. “I was the one who brought the sexual-trafficking issue to Bush personally,” says Colson, clearly relishing his high-level access.
A debate is already raging amongst evangelicals over how to handle issues of environment.
A great deal also probably has to do with campaigns run by some evangelicals which have sought to persuade their fellow Christians to look beyond issues of sexual morality. The book God’s Politics by Jim Wallis, which made the New York Times bestseller list, was a scathing indictment of the way that conservative evangelicals in the US had attempted to co-opt any discussion of religion and politics.
It was also seen as a clarion call to make America’s religious communities more ‘pro-justice, pro-peace, pro-environment, and pro-equality’ as a natural outworking of their faith.
Midterm elections ‘new hour of decision’ for US evangelicals
-06/11/06
The midterm elections in the US are being heralded as a ‘new hour of decision’, with suggestions that the evangelical movement is being torn between those who emphasize sexual morality and those who are looking more to poverty, the environment and global health.
In the run up to the midterm elections in the US, 62 percent of evangelicals say that religion plays too small a role in American political and cultural life today, compared to 37 percent of the American public.
The data comes from a poll for the magazine Newsweek, which is featured as part of the November 13 cover package “The Politics of Jesus” which hit newsstands today (Monday).
The poll reports that twenty-six percent of evangelicals say that their top priority this election day will be Iraq, compared to 32 percent of the American public.
Sixteen percent of evangelicals say that terrorism is most important; 13 percent say the economy and 12 percent say health care; 10 percent say immigration; 9 percent say abortion compared to 5 percent of the American public; and 3 percent say stem cell research is at the top of their list.
Despite the evangelical evolution, ‘wedge politics’ are still sharp — from stem cells to gay marriage – reports Senior Editor Lisa Miller in the cover story.
In the current issue, Miller explores the emerging tensions within the evangelical movement between those who emphasize sexual morality and those who are looking more to poverty and global health.
A new generation of evangelical believers is pressing beyond the religious right of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, trying to broaden the movement’s focus from the familiar wars about sex to include issues of social and economic justice.
The result is a new hour of decision for evangelicals, says Newsweek.
Many evangelicals are now part of the establishment they once ran against. George W. Bush credits Billy Graham with saving him from a life of drift and drink. To keep lines of communication open after the 2000 election, the White House began making weekly calls to the evangelical community — an opportunity for Christians to air grievances and make demands.
Chuck Colson, who founded the faith-based group Prison Fellowship after being incarcerated for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, says the evangelical movement has “matured.” Christians have great access to the president, who is interested in a broad range of issues beyond the hot buttons of abortion and same-sex marriage, he says. “I was the one who brought the sexual-trafficking issue to Bush personally,” says Colson, clearly relishing his high-level access.
A debate is already raging amongst evangelicals over how to handle issues of environment.
A great deal also probably has to do with campaigns run by some evangelicals which have sought to persuade their fellow Christians to look beyond issues of sexual morality. The book God’s Politics by Jim Wallis, which made the New York Times bestseller list, was a scathing indictment of the way that conservative evangelicals in the US had attempted to co-opt any discussion of religion and politics.
It was also seen as a clarion call to make America’s religious communities more ‘pro-justice, pro-peace, pro-environment, and pro-equality’ as a natural outworking of their faith.