Is evangelism on the way out?

[Charles Kozierok]

This article was written at the start of Obama's first term, not his second, but is proving to have been rather accurate, IMO.

I don't think the movement is going to disappear. But I think we saw in 2012 the beginning of its political marginalization.

In the long run, the GOP is going to have to separate itself from the holy rollers, if it is to have any chance of success. They won't like it, but just like the far left, they will grumble but support the GOP anyway.

Or, they'll rebel, and we'll have Democrats winning elections for the foreseeable future.

 

[waggy]

not for a long time. still to large a vetoing block to ignore.

 

[EagleKeeper]

In terms of a political force - no.
They may not be able to lead; byut they do wield a big stick in terms of punishment.

In terms of sheep being led around by charlatans - NO WAY

 

[Londo_Jowo]

No, evangelism is here to stay for a small population. However, I think the days of the religious right have passed and they will no longer be a strong voice in the Republican party.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The interesting thing IMO is that while the evangelical movement represents a fairly important tentpole for the GOP, in general Republican leadership (at least at the Presidential level) has really only paid lip service to the ideas they hold dear. They prefer a GWB to a BHO because, among other things, President Bush was willing to publicly proclaim himself pro-life and call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but it's not as though he ever did anything about or looked as though he might.

Personally, while I try to respect people's faith, I really don't want to be governed by anyone who is TOO religious, whether it's as a born-again Christian, an ultra-orthodox Jew, or a fundamentalist Muslim. At some point their faith simply colors their judgment too much for me to trust them in high positions of power.

 

[fskimospy]

This article was written at the start of Obama's first term, not his second, but is proving to have been rather accurate, IMO.

I don't think the movement is going to disappear. But I think we saw in 2012 the beginning of its political marginalization.

In the long run, the GOP is going to have to separate itself from the holy rollers, if it is to have any chance of success. They won't like it, but just like the far left, they will grumble but support the GOP anyway.

Or, they'll rebel, and we'll have Democrats winning elections for the foreseeable future.

If you're talking about on the national level I think that ship sailed awhile ago. They weren't terribly important in the 2008 election and they barely merited a mention in the 2012 one.

GWB's first term is the last time I can think of the national Republican Party doing anything of significance for evangelicals, and that's about a decade ago now. Now that mainstream attitudes have shifted away from their issues so dramatically they seem to be kept in the closet (har) as much as possible.

 

[MovingTarget]

I think that it is important to specify that we are talking about evangelism as a political force, and not the historical type of evangelism in the religious realm. Do I think that the days of the "Moral Majority" are gone? Not quite. The mega-churches and big televangelists have lost a lot of their political power, but on the other end of things, the religious right is on the rise in Catholicism. The recent kerfuffle about the HHS birth control regulations and the "fortnight for freedom" are but a taste of things to come, much to my personal chagrin as a Catholic.

 

[Mursilis]

I think that it is important to specify that we are talking about evangelism as a political force, and not the historical type of evangelism in the religious realm. Do I think that the days of the "Moral Majority" are gone? Not quite. The mega-churches and big televangelists have lost a lot of their political power, but on the other end of things, the religious right is on the rise in Catholicism. The recent kerfuffle about the HHS birth control regulations and the "fortnight for freedom" are but a taste of things to come, much to my personal chagrin as a Catholic.

Obama has twice won the Catholic vote (according to the Wash. Post), and I don't see any reason for it not to continue to split in the future. While the Church hierachy has and will continue to oppose abortion, they're with the Dems on a host of other issues - access to healthcare, social justice, aid for the poor, anti-death penalty, amnesty for illegals, etc.

 

[MovingTarget]

Obama has twice won the Catholic vote (according to the Wash. Post), and I don't see any reason for it not to continue to split in the future. While the Church hierachy has and will continue to oppose abortion, they're with the Dems on a host of other issues - access to healthcare, social justice, aid for the poor, anti-death penalty, amnesty for illegals, etc.

I did not claim that they necessarily vote Republican. It has been statitisticly shown many times that there is no "Catholic Vote" overall, which imho is a good thing. However, the religious right these days tends to focus on womens' issues - at the expense of the issues that you list. There has been a definite shift in focus in the church lately.

 

[JEDIYoda]

GWB's first term is the last time I can think of the national Republican Party doing anything of significance for evangelicals, and that's about a decade ago now. Now that mainstream attitudes have shifted away from their issues so dramatically they seem to be kept in the closet (har) as much as possible.

That`s very true!! I don`t think there influence will go away.....

What I believe will happen is they will reinvent themselves and add several things to their message....

1) I think they wqill have to add that word "LOVE" to their vocabulary....I did not say condone or accept I said the word LOVE....

2) The word -- "Respect".......you can disagree with somebody and still respect them as a person.....

I`m finished!

 

[Retro Rob]

That`s very true!! I don`t think there influence will go away.....

What I believe will happen is they will reinvent themselves and add several things to their message....

1) I think they wqill have to add that word "LOVE" to their vocabulary....I did not say condone or accept I said the word LOVE....

2) The word -- "Respect".......you can disagree with somebody and still respect them as a person.....

I`m finished!

I can agree. I've always thought that it will reach a crossroad in this country -- get on board or get out, really.

I think that with SSM being the foremost issue on the planet, and since I think the SCOTUS will vote in the positive, there will have to be some changes for the world to progress.

IMO, it seems to be boiling down to Secularism v Theocracy. I don't know how accurate I am, but this is just how I see things going.

-Progress or stagnation.
-Forward or backward.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.