JUNE 2, 2003

CULTURE
Is evangelicals' influence increasing on the local level?

Organizers in nearly 150 U.S. cities are planning events June 7 to honor Jesus Day, an unofficial day set aside for Christians to express love for God through local marches and community service. Evangelicals' increasing national prominence in political and social arenas has been widely reported, but their growing presence is also affecting life in communities across the country. Not everyone agrees on how much influence they have in relation to other groups, particularly as America becomes more religiously diverse, and critics abound. But as one of the country's most homogenous groups socially and politically, their participation in community life is gaining attention.

Religious leaders of diverse traditions, academics and political scientists agree that evangelicals' national presence has been heightened by the leadership of a born-again Christian president and a conservative-leaning Congress, high-profile missionary efforts, and events such as National Day of Prayer. In addition, legislation, court rulings, and new government policies on issues such as stem cell research, faith-based initiatives, abortion, marriage, sex education and religion in public schools has increased the visibility of evangelicals' views.

Locally evangelicals are involved in many of the same issues through city and state government, school boards and community efforts. And advocates sometimes have an easier time championing legislation on divisive issues in states and cities than in Congress.

While evangelicals' numbers are difficult to tally because they draw from dozens of denominations and parachurch groups, they have benefited from having hundreds of new and expanding churches at a time when many churches are losing members. Evangelical leaders say they are ready to capitalize on those numbers - which surveys estimate at a quarter or more of the U.S. population. Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals, said leadership development, from the local to the national level, is a priority. He said other keys to pushing issues include developing cooperative relationships and focusing on values and concerns shared by more than just their members. Doing politics, he notes, is different from evangelizing.

Others caution that evangelicals' influence may not be as great as it sometimes seems, particularly because the United States has become more diverse religiously and many of the largest faith groups - such as Roman Catholics, who make up a quarter of the country's population - are diverse within themselves. And evangelicals' engagement in public policy ranges from very conservative causes to social justice concerns.

Questions for reporters
• What faith groups and places of worship are most prominent in your area and why? How has that changed over time?
• Compare the growth of places of worship in your area to what is reflected in national studies. What's different? What's the same?
• What local issues are clergy and members of evangelical churches involved in? How does that compare to other places of worship?
• What influence have conservative evangelicals had on local and state governments and school boards? What causes are they championing? How are they organizing?
• How have members of other religious groups tried to counter that influence?
What do non-Christians say about evangelical Christians' prominence in your area? What about people who don't participate in organized religion?

Why it matters
Many of the most divisive topics in American politics involve issues in which many evangelicals have taken a strong stand. Their influence politically and socially could help shape the laws and court rulings that affect how all Americans live.

Jump to background

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources
• Christian Smith is professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His books include American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving (University of Chicago Press, 1998), and Christian America?: What Evangelicals Really Want (University of California Press, 2002). Contact 919-962-4524, chis_smith@unc.edu.
• Robert W. Edgar is general secretary of the National Council of Churches. He believes that the strength of conservative evangelicals' influence is more myth than reality, perpetuated by their ability to utilize the media effectively. Contact director of media relations Carol Fouke, 212-870-2252, cfouke@ncccusa.org.
• Richard Cizik is vice president for government affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals, which includes 43,000 congregations from 50 member denominations, individual congregations from an additional 27 denominations, and 250 parachurch ministries and educational institutions. Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@nae.net.
• Mark Noll is a Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He is the co-founder of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals and author of American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction (Blackwell, 2000). Contact 630-752-5865, Mark.Noll@wheaton.edu.
• Rabbi David Saperstein is director and counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, based in Washington, D.C. He says conservative evangelicals have a powerful influence on American politics. He also says conservative evangelicals have been more successful pushing issues on the local level than on the national. However, he also says he expects evangelicals’ influence to wane in the coming years, just as it has among mainline and liberal churches. Contact through Alexis Rice at 202-387-2800, arice@rac.org.
• Raeed Tayeh is public affairs director for the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation. He says evangelicals' prominence in U.S. politics has great consequences, some good and some bad. For example, he says that Muslims would be in favor of policies that strengthen family values. But they are deeply opposed to other items high on the evangelical agenda, such as support of Israel. He says it matters whether the rest of the world perceives the United States as a "Christian" nation if Christianity is represented by conservatives such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Contact 703-998-6525 or 301-908-4671 (cell), Raeed@masnet.org.
• John C. Green is the director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. Contact 330-972-5182, green@uakron.edu.
• Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy is executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, based in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gaddy has said that conservative evangelicals do not simply have influence in the White House; they are "in" the White House. Contact media relations at 202-639-6370, press@interfaithalliance.org.
• Contact Jeanine Guidry, national director for Jesus Day, which began in 2000 as a way to express Christians' love of Jesus through local marches that are combined with community service events. She says events are planned in nearly 150 cities. See a map and list of events nationally. Contact 804-745-7824, jesusday@att.net.
• The Center for Inquiry, a New York organization that provides rational ethical alternatives to religious systems of belief sponsored a conference Mary 31-June 1, 2003, on "Responding to Evangelical Influence in American Public Life: Creation, Dominion, and Armageddon." Contact Kevin Christopher at 716-636-1425, ext. 218, kchristopher@centerforinquiry.net.
• Ron Sider is executive director of Evangelicals for Social Action, based in Wynnewood, Pa., which promotes Christian engagement, analysis and understanding of major social, cultural and public policy issues. Contact 610-645-9354, ronsider@esa-online.org.

Background
• Read an Aug. 6, 2000, New York Times story, posted by the organization Refuse & Resist!, about George W. Bush's endorsement of Jesus Day while he was governor of Texas.
• A March 4, 2003 New York Times column posted at the Middle East Information Center's web site explored the increasing prevalence of evangelicals, citing a December 2002 Gallup poll that found that 46 percent of Americans identified themselves as evangelical or born again.

DEFINITIONS
• Read a definition of "evangelicals" from the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College.
• The National Association of Evangelicals posts its statement of beliefs and a list of denominations that are members.
• Evangelical Christian pollster George Barna defines evangelical this way for the purpose of his polls, found at his web site: "Evangelicals" are a subset of born-again Christians in Barna surveys. In addition to meeting the born-again criteria, evangelicals also meet seven other conditions. Those include saying the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical has no relationship to church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church they attend. "Born-again Christians" are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

POLLS AND STUDIES
• A July 2002 ABC News/Beliefnet.com poll found that 37 percent of Americans described themselves as born-again or evangelical.
• A December 2002 Barna poll showed that only 22 percent of non-Christians had a favorable view of evangelical Christians.
• Evangelical Protestant congregations make up the largest portion, 58 percent, of new congregations, according to the Faith Communities Today study of more than 14,000 congregations released by Hartford Seminary in 2001.
• The American Religious Identification Survey released in 2001 by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York found that the three religious groups that had the most gains from people switching from other religious groups were evangelical Christians, those describing themselves as nondenominational Christians and those who profess no religion. A chart illustrates this. The extensive study was based on interviews with 50,281 American households.
• The web site Adherents.com lists major recent surveys and polls about religious identification in America.
• Read about a May 2000 study conducted by Christian Smith, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His study shows that not all evangelicals consider themselves to be politically conservative.