The Truth about Conservative Christians

The Truth about Conservative Christians PDF Author: Andrew M. Greeley
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226306755
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Ever since the reelection of President Bush, conservative Christians have been stereotyped in the popular media: Bible-thumping militants and anti-intellectual zealots determined to impose their convictions on such matters as evolution, school prayer, pornography, abortion, and homosexuality on the rest of us. But conservative Christians are not as fanatical or intractable as many people think, nor are they necessarily the monolithic voting block or political base that kept Bush in power. Andrew M. Greeley and Michael Hout's eye-opening book expertly conveys the complexity, variety, and sensibilities of conservative Christians, dispelling the myths that have long shrouded them in prejudice and political bias. For starters, Greeley and Hout reveal that class and income have trumped moral issues for these Americans more often than we realize: a dramatic majority of working-class and lower-class conservative Christians backed liberals such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton during their runs for president. And when it comes to abortion, most conservative Christians are not consistently pro-life in the absolute fashion usually assumed: they are still more likely to oppose the practice than other Americans, but 86 percent of them are willing to tolerate it to protect the health of the mother or when the woman has been raped, and 22 percent of them are even pro-choice. What do conservative Christians really think about evolution, homosexuality, or even the meaning of the word of God? Answering these questions and more, The Truth about Conservative Christians will interest—and surprise—a broad range of readers, especially in this heated election year.

The Truth about Conservative Christians

The Truth about Conservative Christians PDF Author: Andrew M. Greeley
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226306755
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ever since the reelection of President Bush, conservative Christians have been stereotyped in the popular media: Bible-thumping militants and anti-intellectual zealots determined to impose their convictions on such matters as evolution, school prayer, pornography, abortion, and homosexuality on the rest of us. But conservative Christians are not as fanatical or intractable as many people think, nor are they necessarily the monolithic voting block or political base that kept Bush in power. Andrew M. Greeley and Michael Hout's eye-opening book expertly conveys the complexity, variety, and sensibilities of conservative Christians, dispelling the myths that have long shrouded them in prejudice and political bias. For starters, Greeley and Hout reveal that class and income have trumped moral issues for these Americans more often than we realize: a dramatic majority of working-class and lower-class conservative Christians backed liberals such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton during their runs for president. And when it comes to abortion, most conservative Christians are not consistently pro-life in the absolute fashion usually assumed: they are still more likely to oppose the practice than other Americans, but 86 percent of them are willing to tolerate it to protect the health of the mother or when the woman has been raped, and 22 percent of them are even pro-choice. What do conservative Christians really think about evolution, homosexuality, or even the meaning of the word of God? Answering these questions and more, The Truth about Conservative Christians will interest—and surprise—a broad range of readers, especially in this heated election year.

The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics

The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics PDF Author: Andrew R. Lewis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108417701
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Explains how abortion politics influenced a fundamental shift in conservative Christian politics, teaching conservatives to embrace rights arguments.

The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know PDF Author: Elicka Peterson Sparks
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633881512
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
In this trenchant examination of Christianity’s dark side, a criminologist argues persuasively that high rates of violent crime in the United States can be correlated with Christian conservative attitudes, especially in regard to social mores and politics. Of particular concern is “Christian nationalism.” Supporters of this movement argue that America was founded as a Christian nation and they work to install their fundamentalist brand of Christianity as the dominant factor in American political and social life. Far from being a fanatic outlier sect, this group is shown to have significant cultural influence, especially in the American South. Not coincidentally, the author suggests, the South also has the highest homicide rates. Noting the violent biblical passages often cited by religious conservatives, their sense of righteousness, their dogmatic mindset that tolerates no dissent, and their support for harshly punitive measures toward “sinners,” Peterson Sparks shows that their worldview is the ideal seedbed for violence. Not only does this mindset make violent reactions in interpersonal conflicts more likely, the author says, but it exacerbates the problems of the criminal justice system by advocating policies that create high incarceration rates. The author also devotes particular attention to the victimization of women, children, and LGBT people, which follows from this rigid belief system. While not resorting to a blanket condemnation of Christianity or religion as a whole, Peterson Sparks issues a wake-up call regarding conservative Christianity’s toxic mixture of fundamentalism, authoritarian politics, patriotism, and retributory justice.

Exodus

Exodus PDF Author: Dave Shiflett
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781595230072
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This eye-opening book will shatter many myths about the "Religious Right." (Social Issues)

Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right

Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right PDF Author: Seth Dowland
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812291913
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
During the last three decades of the twentieth century, evangelical leaders and conservative politicians developed a political agenda that thrust "family values" onto the nation's consciousness. Ministers, legislators, and laypeople came together to fight abortion, gay rights, and major feminist objectives. They supported private Christian schools, home schooling, and a strong military. Family values leaders like Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, Anita Bryant, and James Dobson became increasingly supportive of the Republican Party, which accommodated the language of family values in its platforms and campaigns. The family values agenda created a bond between evangelicalism and political conservatism. Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right chronicles how the family values agenda became so powerful in American political life and why it appealed to conservative evangelical Christians. Conservative evangelicals saw traditional gender norms as crucial in cultivating morality. They thought these gender norms would reaffirm the importance of clear lines of authority that the social revolutions of the 1960s had undermined. In the 1970s and 1980s, then, evangelicals founded Christian academies and developed homeschooling curricula that put conservative ideas about gender and authority front and center. Campaigns against abortion and feminism coalesced around a belief that God created women as wives and mothers—a belief that conservative evangelicals thought feminists and pro-choice advocates threatened. Likewise, Christian right leaders championed a particular vision of masculinity in their campaigns against gay rights and nuclear disarmament. Movements like the Promise Keepers called men to take responsibility for leading their families. Christian right political campaigns and pro-family organizations drew on conservative evangelical beliefs about men, women, children, and authority. These beliefs—known collectively as family values—became the most important religious agenda in late twentieth-century American politics.

One Faith No Longer

One Faith No Longer PDF Author: George Yancey
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479808660
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Irreconcilable differences drive the division between progressive and conservative Christians—is there a divorce coming? Much attention has been paid to political polarization in America, but far less to the growing schism between progressive and conservative Christians. In this groundbreaking new book, George Yancey and Ashlee Quosigk offer the provocative contention that progressive and conservative Christianities have diverged so much in their core values that they ought to be thought of as two separate religions. The authors draw on both quantitative data and interviews to uncover how progressive and conservative Christians determine with whom they align themselves religiously, and how they distinguish themselves from each other. They find that progressive Christians emphasize political agreement relating to social justice issues as they determine who is part of their in-group, and focus less on theological agreement. Among conservative Christians, on the other hand, the major concern is whether one agrees with them on core theological points. Progressive and conservative Christians thus use entirely different factors in determining their social identity and moral values. In a time when religion and politics have never seemed so intertwined, One Faith No Longer offers a timely and compelling reframing of an age-old conflict.

In Defense of the Religious Right

In Defense of the Religious Right PDF Author: Patrick Hynes
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc
ISBN: 9781595550514
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A demonization campaign is afoot to marginalize conservative Christians from public life. First the pundits tried to whitewash the role Christian "moral values" voters played in the 2004 election. Then they smeared Christians as "theocrats" and compared them to the Mullahs in Iran. Now Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean has threatened to use the IRS to silence them. For the first time, respected political analyst Patrick Hynes steps up to the plate to defend religious conservatives. -- BOOK JACKET.

The Christian Left

The Christian Left PDF Author: Lucas Miles
Publisher: BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC
ISBN: 1424562155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The church has been invaded. The Christian Left unveils how liberal thought has entered America's sanctuaries, exchanging the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the trinity of diversity, acceptance, and social justice. This in-depth look at church history, world politics, and pop culture masterfully exposes the rise and agenda of the Christian Left. Readers will learn how to: Identify and refute the lies of the Christian Left Uncover the meaning of love as Jesus defined it Navigate controversial subjects such as abortion, gender identity, and the doctrine of hell Gain confidence in upholding biblical values Come face-to-face with the person of Jesus, who is neither left nor right but the embodiment of truth and grace Be equipped with a strong understanding of issues facing the church today and empowered to elevate God's truth, justice, and wisdom.

What Are Spiritual Gifts?

What Are Spiritual Gifts? PDF Author: Kenneth Berding
Publisher: Kregel Publications
ISBN: 0825499089
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
Many Christians have tried to discover their spiritual gifts only to find the process frustrating and complicated. Rarely in our search do we actually ask what should be our central question: What are spiritual gifts? Kenneth Berding believes we have misunderstood spiritual gifts, which has led to a misguided search. His convincing and readable study suggests that the Holy Spirit does not give special abilities (the conventional view), but rather calls us and places us into various ministries to build up and strengthen the body of Christ. - Back cover.

Religion of Fear

Religion of Fear PDF Author: Jason C Bivins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199887691
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 519

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Book Description
Conservative evangelicalism has transformed American politics, disseminating a sometimes fearful message not just through conventional channels, but through subcultures and alternate modes of communication. Within this world is a "Religion of Fear," a critical impulse that dramatizes cultural and political conflicts and issues in frightening ways that serve to contrast "orthodox" behaviors and beliefs with those linked to darkness, fear, and demonology. Jason Bivins offers close examinations of several popular evangelical cultural creations including the Left Behind novels, church-sponsored Halloween "Hell Houses," sensational comic books, especially those disseminated by Jack Chick, and anti-rock and -rap rhetoric and censorship. Bivins depicts these fascinating and often troubling phenomena in vivid (sometimes lurid) detail and shows how they seek to shape evangelical cultural identity. As the "Religion of Fear" has developed since the 1960s, Bivins sees its message moving from a place of relative marginality to one of prominence. What does it say about American public life that such ideas of fearful religion and violent politics have become normalized? Addressing this question, Bivins establishes links and resonances between the cultural politics of evangelical pop, the activism of the New Christian Right, and the political exhaustion facing American democracy. Religion of Fear is a significant contribution to our understanding of the new shapes of political religion in the United States, of American evangelicalism, of the relation of religion and the media, and the link between religious pop culture and politics.