The Religious Right In Flux

The recent passing of Jerry Falwell has brought attention to the challenges the religious right currently faces to remain a unified, effective political force. Here is some analysis from the Washington Post:


Although Falwell's personal influence had been waning for years, his death at age 73 last week threw into stark relief the current headless state of the political movement he founded with the establishment of the Moral Majority in 1978.


Headless does not mean weak. In the view of many social conservatives, their organizational structures -- from megachurches to Christian colleges, broadcasting networks and public interest law firms -- have never been stronger.


"It would be a mistake to draw the conclusion that because there is not one obvious or a few obvious leaders of this movement, that the movement is waning," said Mark DeMoss, president of an Atlanta-based public relations firm that works primarily for evangelical organizations.


But John C. Green, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said four factors combine to make this a time of flux on the religious right.


There is no single leader who stands astride the movement as Falwell once did. Nor has a 2008 presidential contender emerged to galvanize the ranks. A generation gap is emerging between younger and older evangelicals on subjects such as homosexuality. And a sometimes bitter debate is pitting evangelicals who want to keep their political activity tightly focused on a few issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, against those who want to embrace a broader agenda, including climate change and global poverty.


All these shifts present opportunities for younger leaders. But they also pose the possibility that the movement will become more fragmented.


Any weakening or moderation of the religious right, their fiercest advesary, is good news for the GLBT community