Episode 2: Who is the Christian Right?

Christian Rightcast

In this episode, Kristin and Jeff give a tour of the myriad groups and movements that form the Christian Right, with an emphasis on the different strains of Protestant thought that contribute to the Right’s biggest power bloc: Evangelical Fundamentalism.

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Key faith-groups, movements, and ideologies discussed include:

• Primitivism, the desire to return to an earlier, purer form of religious expression. It’s a common thread linking many different movements and denominations across millennia of Christian history.

• Evangelicalism, a broad movement dating back to the 1700s. It focuses on the personal choice to be “born again” and saved from sin by Jesus, the importance of preaching and winning converts around the world, and the centrality of the Bible in a Christian’s life. A number of Christian denominations fall under this umbrella, and today it’s the largest single religious group in America.

• Fundamentalism, a reactionary movement formed in the early 1900s to fight liberal theology and new forms of Biblical criticism gaining popularity among Protestant theologians. Fundamentalism insisted on a literal, non-metaphorical interpretation of the Bible; opposition to the theory of evolution; and other “fundamentals” it regarded as inherent to true Christianity. Mainstream Protestant denominations largely rejected fundamentalism in the 1920s and 30s, but its influence returned

• Pentecostalism, an early 1900s movement that made “spiritual gifts” a central part of its idea of Christian faith. These gifts from God, like speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing the sick, and other supernatural miracles, served as an indication that believers were truly saved from sin. Other key beliefs include the existence of Satan as literal supernatural being who fights against God’s will; and the immanent return of Jesus to Earth to usher in the end of the world. Pentacostalism was unwelcome in mainstream Protestant denominations, but beginning in the 1960s the Charismatic Movement brought similar beliefs and practices to many Catholic and Protestant churches.

• Reconstructionism, the legacy of Calvinist preacher R. J. Rushdoony. He taught that government and civil society should be based on God’s law — including Old Testament rules like stoning disobedient children — rather than secular ideas of ethics and morality. In the 1960s and 70s, Rushdoony built the foundations of the modern homeschool movement; articulated many of the arguments used to oppose legal protections for the LGBTQ community; and shaped the views of influential Christian thinkers like Francis Schaeffer. Although few people self-identify as Reconstructionists or support all of the extreme laws he advocated, Rushdoony’s principles form the foundation of the Christian Right’s political agenda.

• Conservative Catholicism and Mormonism, less dominant but important members of the Christian Right coalition. Both groups have been outsiders in America’s Protestant civic faith, and historically the official church positions on social, economic, and political issues have defied consistent alignment with a single party. However, postwar anticommunism, coordination with anti-feminist “family values” groups in the 1970s, opposition to legal abortion, and opposition to LGBTQ rights, all built significant bridges with other conservative Protestant groups. As the 1980s and 1990s progressed, both groups helped cement the Christian Right’s influence in GOP politics.

• New Religious Movements, a broad term for splinter groups and upstart faith-groups that aren’t a recognized part of existing religious traditions. This can include self-help movements like New Thought, abusive authoritarian groups like the 1960s Children of God, and recent Charismatic offshoots like The New Apostolic Reformation. A key NRM in the Religious Right is the Unification Church; In 1982 it founded the Washington Times specifically to oppose the Washington Post’s reporting on the Church.

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Footnotes and further reading for this episode:

• Christian Primitivism/Restorationism

• Primitivism in America, by Matthew Bowman

• Baptists in America: A History, by Thomas S. Kidd

• Fundamentalism, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism, at The Pluralism Project

• The Pentacostal/Charismatic Movement, at The Association Of Religion Data Archives

• How the Summer of Love helped give birth to the Religious Right, by Neil J. Young

• Building God’s Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction, by Julie J. Ingersoll

• Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism, by Michael J. McVicar

• A Catholic Cold War: The Politics of American Anticommunism, by Patrick H. McNamara

• Catholic Modern: The Challenge of Totalitarianism and the Remaking of the Church, by James Chappel

• Vatican II: A Half-Century Later, A Mixed Legacy, by Sylvia Poggioli

• Mormonism and American Politics, Edited by Randall Balmer and Jana Riess

• How did Mormons Become So Republican?, an interview with Prof. Matthew Harris

• Who are the Children of God?, by Gabrielle Bruney

• American Messiahs: False Prophets of a Damned Nation, by Adam Morris

• Chosen Nation: Mennonites and Germany in a Global Era, by Princeton University Press

• Resurgence of a global Mennonite far right and Scholars address Nazi influence on Mennonites, at Anabaptist World

• The Pacifist Roosts of an American Nazi, by Ben Goossen