My old stomping grounds, the evangelical movement (EM) in the States, has pinned their hopes on the Republican Party and the current administration. It looks like change has been in gestation for some time, and the younger leadership is steering the big vessel beyond the wedge issues of "abortion, guns and gays" and into social-welfare issues of "plants, the homeless and healthcare".
Be warned: it's a long but fascinating article on one of the center of gravity in American socio-political life.
Good for them.
A couple of things stood out about the EM from reading this article:
- Changing laws without changing hearts accomplishes nothing. Sure, repeal Roe v. Wade, but abortion as a cultural norm won't go away, and the fault lines in society will still be there. Shouldn't Christians focus on Christ as the enabler of change instead of political campaigns? It seems like the evangelical movement sought political legitimacy as a defensive posture: the modernization of social norms threatens their fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, which leads me to my next two points...
- As the congregation matures from a predominantly rural and lower income base to a more suburb-urban and middle income demographic, so too do their values shift. The earlier movement staked its support to hard-line issues like the right to bear arms, gender politics -- the younger congregation cares more about the environment, extending the Gospel of Jesus, the Healer... all reflective of an uptick in class-strata.
- The cycle of fragmentation continues as Man attempts to interprets his own creation of God's words. Within Christianity, I see fragmentation occurs at an increasingly rapid pace. Catholicism gave way to Protestantism.. and now? Beyond 'non-denominational' churches, American Christianity sees a further splintering into conservative, emerging, social and (how many are there?) other interpretations of evangelicals.
One last note: it's with some bemusement as I observe how as men of faith, the religious right has found their faith not reciprocated from politicians. Perhaps they ought to place their faith in something more... long-lasting?