Southern Baptists and the New Christian Right
The rise of the New Christian Right has raised new questions about the links between religion and politics. This paper looks at one denomination that figured prominently in the conservative resurgence of the 1980s, asking whether within a group whose social identity is generally conservative--the So...
| Published in: | Review of religious research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
2008
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| In: |
Review of religious research
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The rise of the New Christian Right has raised new questions about the links between religion and politics. This paper looks at one denomination that figured prominently in the conservative resurgence of the 1980s, asking whether within a group whose social identity is generally conservative--the Southern Baptist Convention--there are significant divisions that are both religious and political and how those two are related. It is shown here that fundamentalism in the Southern Baptist Convention is strongly related to education, but it is also located in the structural positions where exposure to the modern world is high. Opposition to the values of modernity, along with religious beliefs, are then shown to influence support for both the denominational and national conservative agendas. Net of these background factors, there is no direct link among SBC clergy between the religious and secular conservative agendas, but among laity a significant effect remains. Among both groups, however, the strongest effects on identification as a conservative Republican come from positions on secular issues, not denominational ones. In general, the two conservative movements--religious and secular--may be seen as the common result of common social factors. Finally, it is argued that the fundamentalist movement in this denomination has brought to power leaders who make strong connections between their religious and social agendas. As they gradually put those concerns into place within the denomination's bureaucracy, the relationship between religious and political conservatism among SBC laity and clergy may grow. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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