Free Thoughts, Ep. 252: The Moral Collapse of Evangelical America
Channel: Libertarianism.org
Date: 17/08/2018

Reverend Rob Schenck joins us this week to discuss not only his book Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister's Rediscovery of Faith, Hope, and Love, but also his career in the evangelical world and how it morphed into continued political engagement. Schenck, at the age of eighteen, decided that he would live his life in the service of God. He elaborates on how his religious life can be divided into three separate awakenings and how that the separation of Church and State has become increasingly apparent in recent years.  

After meeting President Ronald Reagan, Schenck became mesmerized by "presidential glow", which inspired him to take his religious career into the political sphere. He notes how the  *Roe v. Wade* decision **invited the evangelical world into the sphere of politics. Up until *Roe*, many states had differing laws about abortion, the Supreme Court decision allowed evangelicals to come together to form a stable pro-life movement. 

When did evangelicals become present in political discussion? Was the *Roe v. Wade* decision **a driving force behind the evangelical movement into the political sphere in the 1980's? Why were evangelicals so "gun-ho" to get rid of *Roe v. Wade*? Does Trump represent a cliff that evangelical America fell off of? Why did Trump choose to align with evangelicals?

If you like this, you may also like:

Libertarianism and Christianity, Free Thoughts Episode:
https://www.libertarianism.org/media/free-thoughts-podcast/libertarianism-christianity

Freethought and Freedom: Early Christianity and the Modern Libertarian Movement, Excursions Episode:
https://www.libertarianism.org/media/excursions/freethought-freedom-early-christianity-modern-libertarian-movement