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MAY 3, 2004 ELECTIONS
Experts say that at least 60 million Americans identify themselves as evangelical or "born-again" Christians in the Protestant tradition, though determining the precise borders of the evangelical world is difficult. Millions more in every denomination describe their faith in classic evangelical terms - as having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through a rebirth experience similar to what Bush has described. Moreover, evangelicals - namely, the largely suburban and politically conservative white Americans who dominate this category - enjoy an unprecedented level of influence in politics and culture. Many Bush administration officials, members of Congress and elected officials across the country openly identify with the evangelical wing of Christianity, and evangelical products, such as the apocalyptic Left Behind thrillers or The Purpose Driven Life, are huge successes that market an evangelical theology to a mainstream audience. No other president in American history has been as outspoken about his faith as Bush or as willing to translate those beliefs into public policy positions. During the 2000 campaign, Bush made headlines during a primary debate when he responded to a question about who his favorite political philosopher was with, "Jesus Christ, because he changed my life." Bush's public faith raises many questions: What is the nature of evangelicalism? What is the history of evangelical Christianity in American society and public life? How does this faith affect Bush's political views and policies? Jump to:
Why it matters In domestic affairs, some experts say that Bush's philosophy of "compassionate conservatism" and his championing of faith-based programs reflect a Christian view that sees private charity - stemming from personal conviction - as a better answer to poverty issues than government intervention. In foreign affairs, many experts detect a clear connection between Bush's faith and his efforts to fight terrorism and promote democracy, especially after the Sept. 11 attacks. After 9/11, "There ensued a marriage of the president's no-nonsense evangelicalism with the muscular, highly militarized utopianism of the neoconservative (and largely secular) Right," Boston University political scientists Andrew J. Bacevich and Elizabeth H. Prodromou wrote in the winter edition of the foreign policy journal Orbis. As Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of George W. Bush, wrote in Charisma magazine, "Whatever else George W. Bush is remembered for, his attempt to apply faith to presidential leadership will form a major part of his legacy. It is important for people to understand his faith, then, and to do so before the next election." Questions for
reporters • Where does
George W. Bush stand on the spectrum of evangelical social and political attitudes? Bush's
spiritual biography His journey from there mirrors many of the religious and demographic trends of the past generation. At age 30, Bush moved south to Texas to work in the oil business. By his own account, he lived a hard-drinking life until he underwent a conversion experience in the mid-1980s and rededicated himself to Christianity. He credits a Bible study group in Texas and a beach walk at the Bush compound in Maine with Billy Graham, the evangelical "pastor to the presidents," for helping to redirect his life. "I am ... a lowly sinner who sought redemption and found it," he told USA Today in January 2002. "That doesn't make me better than anybody, it just adds perspective, I hope. I think people are going to find that in tough times ... they're going to see a steady hand because the rock on which I stand is something other than the moment, the emotion of the day. Faith can be a steadying influence." Although Bush regularly attended a Presbyterian church in Midland, Texas, and later was a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church near Dallas, he does not openly identify with any particular denomination. He is said to prefer small prayer groups with like-minded believers. That reflects the growing preferences of American believers across the spectrum who shun institutional religion and embrace a more fluid, personalized spiritual life. Bush rarely attends formal church services, preferring the military-led services in the chapel at the presidential retreat at Camp David. He said in an interview in Ladies' Home Journal in October 2003 that he reads the Bible every morning along with devotionals by the Rev. Charles Stanley, the popular senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Bush told Fox News in April 2003 that he frequently prays in the Oval Office: "I pray all the time." According to Bush biographer Stephen Mansfield and other chroniclers of the president's faith, his beliefs correlate directly to his political career. For example, it was reported that Bush first heard a "call" to run for president during a sermon by the Rev. Mark Craig at Highland Park United Methodist Church. Before Bush announced his candidacy, he invited Texas-based evangelist James Robison to meet with him. Bush reportedly told Robison that he had given his life to Christ and that he believed that God wanted him to be president. Mansfield reports that Bush also told Robison that he felt "something was going to happen" and that the country would need his leadership in a time of crisis. Many reports indicate that Bush has said he believes that the events of 9/11 show that Providence chose him to lead the country at this time. Experts say that attitude helps explain his religious - and characteristically evangelical - rhetoric in framing the war on terrorism as battle between the forces of good and evil. A
history of evangelicalism Long after the Revolution, evangelicalism remained a vital part of the American religious landscape, sparking periodic spiritual "awakenings" and helping to fuel social movements such as abolitionism and the temperance movement, even as mainline Protestantism held sway in society, politics and culture. In the early 20th century, many white conservative Protestants grew alienated from the wider society and retreated from public life. Part of their alienation was fueled by waves of immigration, largely of Roman Catholics, whom they viewed as practicing a heretical brand of Christianity. That chasm has been bridged in many significant ways in recent years, although differences remain. Observers say that could be an issue as the evangelical Bush squares off against the Catholic Kerry. In the 1940s and '50s, the evangelical isolation began to change. Evangelists such as Billy Graham brought evangelicalism back to prominence and found common cause with Christian denominations that most evangelicals had previously shunned. This re-emergence proved to be a decisive break with fundamentalists, who experts stress are very different from most evangelicals. While there is some overlap, fundamentalists are a much smaller subset of conservative Christianity that remains far more hostile to the wider culture and isolated from their evangelical brethren. Fundamentalists, experts say, reject any accommodation with the prevailing culture and tend to be far stricter in observing proscriptions against behaviors such as dancing or drinking. They also shun ecumenical dialogue and believe that their version of Christianity is the sole way to gain eternal salvation, whereas many evangelicals take a more permissive view of the possibility that other Christians could enter heaven. In contrast to fundamentalists, mainstream evangelicals embraced culture to promote their religious message. That message is difficult to sum up, but scholars say it is essentially nondenominational Protestantism in the Puritan-Calvinist tradition, as the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society explains. Evangelicals are non-creedal and focus on a few essentials that are reiterated through emotional services and presentations. They are decidedly non-institutional and non-hierarchical. They rely solely on the authority of Scripture and stress a personal experience of the risen Jesus. They tend to be "exclusivist" theologically, meaning they believe that people can only find eternal salvation by believing in Jesus as God. That accounts for their strong emphasis on seeking conversions through intense missionary activity and their reticence to participate in interfaith dialogue. Evangelicals also tend to be biblical literalists who read the Bible as fact, rather than a mix of history, moral lessons and metaphors. They see the promised return of Jesus in the Book of Revelation as a real-life prophecy and focus intently on converting others before the final Judgment Day, which many believe is imminent. Experts note that some evangelicals try to downplay the message that salvation is only possible through Jesus for fear of alienating others, prompting sharp debate within the community. They point out that Bush himself once sparked controversy when, as governor of Texas, he implied that Jews may not find eternal life. He has since responded to the issue by saying that God alone knows the fate of each person's soul. Evangelicalism is characterized by its adaptability. As evangelicals emerged in the culture in recent years, they also made peace with many mainline denominations. As a result, rather than sealing themselves off religiously, many evangelicals - such as President Bush - often worship within traditional denominations. Some are working to make those denominations more traditional, while others find a congregation that suits their style and ignore the internal politics of the denomination's leadership. An extensive survey, "American Evangelicals," was released in April 2004 in connection with a May special section by U.S. News & World Report and a four-part series by the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The survey is the best current snapshot of America's evangelical community. In one key finding, 75 percent of evangelicals believe they fit into mainstream American society, and an equal number believe they have to struggle to have their voices heard. Experts say this dynamic is central to understanding evangelical political and social behavior today. Scholars say it is also important to note that whites make up about 80 percent of the evangelical community, and they are predominantly social and political conservatives. Many African-Americans and some Hispanics identify as evangelicals, but they remain small subsets - 15 percent and 5 percent, respectively, of the evangelical community, according to the survey "American Evangelicals." Moreover, while minority and white evangelicals share some socially conservative views and theological outlooks, they are opposites in voting patterns. The "American Evangelicals" poll found that 69 percent of white evangelicals said they consider themselves to be Republicans or lean Republican, while 84 percent of African-American evangelicals called themselves Democrats or lean Democrat. Evangelicals
and politics today In the '60s and '70s, court rulings on school prayer, abortion and civil rights angered many evangelicals and mobilized leaders to become active in politics. Ironically, the first self-described "born-again" Christian president - Georgia Democrat Jimmy Carter, elected in 1976 - proved to be such a disappointment to his more conservative brethren that grass-roots evangelicals were motivated even more. In the 1970s, the Rev. Jerry Falwell founded the now-defunct Moral Majority, and in the 1980s the Rev. Pat Robertson started the Christian Coalition. Along with a range of other groups, they collectively became known as the "religious right," a label that many evangelicals today dislike. It was used to sum up the movement's agenda of social conservatism, usually promoted through the Republican Party. At first these groups and the people they claimed to represent were dismissed by many political observers. A 1983 Washington Post article famously referred to conservative Christians as "poor, uneducated and easily led." The reality was much different, and with the ascent of the Republican Party in the 1980s and 1990s, evangelical Christians began to dominate many political debates. Their growing numbers added to their electoral heft. Because evangelicalism lacks denominational structures or membership requirements, and because those who identify as evangelicals often have varying definitions of what that label means, it is difficult to count them. A 2003 Gallup Poll found that 42 percent of Americans self-identified as "born-again or evangelical," up from 36 percent in 1992. The election of George W. Bush in 2000 was seen as a breakthrough for evangelicals after political setbacks in the late 1990s. But political triumph also brought complications as evangelicals learned to play the game of politics - but also began to make compromises that left some of their rank and file disillusioned. In fact, while evangelicals tend to be socially and politically conservative, scholars say it is important to remember that there are many fault lines within this group on a range of issues. Those divisions have sometimes affected Bush, who has upset some evangelicals by appointing homosexuals to federal jobs and by saying (at a news conference in November 2003 with British Prime Minister Tony Blair) that he believes Christians, Jews and Muslims all "worship the same God." Experts say that Bush is both a leader in the evangelical emergence and a product of its growing presence in public life. But they say the very success of evangelicalism is testing its limits, and they say that the presidential campaign could intensify debate about whether evangelical Christians - including Bush - have adapted so readily to modern life that American culture is changing them rather than vice versa. Still, it appears certain that evangelicals will be key to the 2004 election for Bush. The Gallup Poll showed that in 1994, 42 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of Democrats identified as "born-again or evangelical." In 2003, the gap was up to 10 points, with 49 percent identifying as Republicans and 39 percent as Democrats. And the recent survey "American Evangelicals" showed that nearly seven in 10 white evangelicals are either Republican or lean GOP, while just 23 percent would vote or lean toward the Democrats.
• Peter Kuzmic
is the Distinguished Professor of World Missions & European Studies at Gordon-Conwell
Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. He can comment on a range of issues related
to evangelicalism. He is one of 40 evangelical leaders who signed a 2002 letter
urging Bush to balance his Middle East policy in favor of Palestinians as well
as Israelis. Contact him through Anne Doll, 978-468-7111 ext. 4141, adoll@gcts.edu. Background Polls
and research
• Read a July
2003 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey titled "Religion
& Politics: Contention and Consensus" that examines the public's
views on Bush's faith. Books
about Bush
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© 2008 Religion Newswriters Foundation | |
President
Bush has become the most prominent evangelical Christian in America at a time
when evangelical Christianity has become the pre-eminent religious bloc in the
country. With the presidential campaign heating up, this potent nexis is prompting
widespread interest in the culture and beliefs of evangelical Christians and
how they intersect with a president's policies. 