The religious right is comprised of fundamentalist social conservatives who share concerns and beliefs about controversial religious, moral, and social issues in our society. The first major player in the social conservative movement, which was initiated about 30 years ago, was a group called the Moral Majority, headed by Jerry Falwell. That initial group has been replaced by a larger and broader political organization referred to as the Christian Coalition, or the religious right.
They are a well-organized and cohesive group passionate about the issues and very active in pursuing their causes. The religious right is active politically, aligning themselves with the Republican Party, and they strive to get their beliefs incorporated into our nation’s laws and government policies. All social conservatives do not agree on a few of the issues, but they are in general agreement on most of them, and they are intolerant of people with conflicting views.
The Republican Party has embraced the religious right and incorporated their beliefs into the Party agenda. Social conservatives and the Republican Party are united on the controversial religious, moral, and social issues prevalent in today’s society. (1) They oppose abortion and euthanasia. (2) They oppose homosexuality and gay marriage. (3) They push for state-sponsored Christian prayer in our public schools. (4) They support posting the Ten Commandments in public facilities. (5) They push for teaching creationism, or intelligent design, in our public school science classes. (6) They oppose the use of embryos in stem cell research. (7) They oppose gun control and affirmative action programs. (8) They strive for school vouchers.
The religious right votes for political candidates who are in agreement with them on hot-button issues of interest to them. They try to force everyone to adopt, and abide by, their religious beliefs and practices. That mixing of religion and politics, together with the religious right’s inflexible stand on the issues, has yielded bitter division in America.
Herschel Hill’s book, PLEASING GOD; THE JESUS AGENDA, contains an analysis of the role of the religious right in the political realm of our society. It is available through bookstores, amazon.com, and other internet sites. Autographed copies can be obtained directly from the author at reduced prices through this webpage.
