The Abortion Myth

Today we spoke with Randall Balmer on the history of Evangelicals in America and their influence on domestic politics.

„I Call it, ,The Abortion Myth"

Julia: I liked Balmer´s notion of the „Abortion Myth“ behind the rise of the Religious Right in the early 1980s. We usually hear of the Religious Right as an anti-abortion movement, yet Balmer explained that this issue is mainly used to mobilize voters, but not pursued strongly in policymaking.

Florian: Right, I found it shocking that, basically, he argued that the rise of the Religious Right was founded on racism, not abortion. They began to rise in the 1970´s in protest of a District Court ruling that segregated organizations could not have charitable status, and therefore, tax exemption.

J: This idea was new to me, but it made a lot of sense in the context of the Conservative revival in national politics in the 1980s with the candidacy of Reagan. Many of their policies seemed in response to the Civil Rights Movement, though cloaked in the terms of moral decay in society.

F: But abortion is still legal, even after many years of Republican rule. During an 11-month period, in 2007, when the Republicans held power both in Congress, The Presidency and the Supreme Court, there was no serious attempt to outlaw abortion. That proves to me that they were just feigning concern.

J: I agree, but the situation is somewhat more complicated than he led on, since even with control over all three branches of government, the Republicans could not restrict abortion rights without a case before the Supreme Court challenging the Roe. v. Wade. decision legalizing abortion.

„The Religious Right is Starting to Collapse Under its Own Weight“

F: It seems that they are getting tired of this abortion-topic and searching for alternative issues to mobilize their base, such as gay marriage.

J: That issue has not proven very successful with the younger generation of evangelicals, who are becoming more interested in the environment and social justice.

F: I wonder if religion will really provide an answer to global climate change.

J: I don´t know, but it seems like a positive development that young people are using their faith as a motivation to work for progressive causes, as long as they don´t take it too far.

F. Trust me, they will find a way.

„Bush Declared That Jesus Was His Favorite Philosopher“ (Election Debate 2000)

F: Well, I wonder what Jesus would have to say about that.

J: Right, or about the Bush presidency for that matter.

F: If I were Jesus, I would tell the American politicians to keep us preachers out of it!

J: Haha, that is a very good point, but his evangelical religion has played a central role in his life and political thinking.

F: Its unusual for me that politicians talk so much about their faith just to get the support of some fundamentalists. Why not ignore them?

J: Well, evangelicals have been a powerful force in American politics since the post-Civil Rights era . Unlike earlier candidates who many have pandered to the Religious Right, however, Bush seems to sincerely believe that he is Born Again. Plus, Bush probably could not think of any other philosophers to mention.

F: At least both candidates in this election seem to have a more moderate approach towards religion in politics.