Evangelical agenda

{{christianity}}{{bronze}}
'''Evangelical agenda''' is a term that refers to the [[Politics|political]] and social objectives of an American [[Evangelical Christianity]].  Evangelical Christianity exists in many other parts of the world and may or may not share similar [[belief]]s and objectives with a particular [[conservative]] brand of an American "Evangelical agenda".

Defining the American "evangelical agenda" is a difficult task, given the large variety of beliefs among  American [[Christianity|Christians]]. Arguably, the Christians making the most noise in the [[United States]] today, and who are arguably the most politically powerful block of Christians, are conservative [[Evangelicalism|evangelicals]].<ref name="pewresearch">http://pewresearch.org/pubs/22/will-white--evangelicals--desert-the-gop</ref> While there are certainly evangelical Christians who are [[moderate]]s or even [[Political spectrum|left-leaning]],<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/534ymruw.asp</ref> this article will attempt to display the most general characteristics of the conservative [[Fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] evangelicals' political outlook.

==Overview==
In general, conservative-leaning evangelical Christians have traditionally been opposed to all things [[liberal]].<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8131907/</ref> The majority of evangelicals align themselves with the [[Conservative|right]],<ref name="pewresearch" /> an association that was established in the 1970s via [[Jerry Falwell|Jerry Falwell's]] [[Moral Majority]]. As such, conservative evangelicals will often vote according to [[Republican Party]] endorsements.<ref>"[http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=103 Religion and the Presidential Vote]."  The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.  Dec. 6, 2004.</ref> Similarly, the [[GOP]] is bound and determined to keep their evangelical base happy and will often vote and act according to the beliefs of their evangelical constituents.<ref>"[http://www.freecolorado.com/2008/10/faith-based-politics-costs-colorado.html Faith-Based Politics Costs Colorado Republicans]."  FreeColorado.com.  Oct. 15, 2008.</ref> Once the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] years drew to a close, the group was largely dissolved, although [[Pat Robertson|Pat Robertson's]] group, the "[[Christian Coalition]]", is largely based upon the same principles.<ref>"[http://cc.org/about_us About Us]."  Christian Coalition Of America.</ref>

==Beliefs by category==
===Education===
*'''Homeschooling''': Some conservative Evangelicals strive to have [[homeschooling]] fully recognized by all levels of [[government]] as a fully legitimate form of schooling, regardless of curriculum.<ref name="homeschooling">http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225776.100-homeschooling-special-preach-your-children-well.html</ref> They contend that a child's parent(s) are best fit to determine what (if anything) their child learns and at what pace.<ref name="homeschooling" />
*'''[[Creation science]]''': In the [[Public education|public school]] forum,  some conservative evangelicals want, at the very least, equal time spent in the classroom learning about [[evolution]] as about the "[[theory]]" of [[Creationism|creation]].<ref>http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/intelligent-design.pdf</ref> Their motto is to "[[teach the controversy]]", despite the fact that not only is the concept of there being a [[Origins debate|controversy]] laughable, but also that such a belief would be best suited to [[Religion|religious]] studies rather than a science class. Unfortunately, several high-profile members of the Republican Party support this item, including [[Sarah Palin]],<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/08/sarah_palin_on.html</ref> [[George W. Bush]],<ref>http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/02/nation/na-intelligent2</ref> Bill Frist,<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9008040/</ref> and [[Bobby Jindal]].<ref>http://www.gop12.com/2009/01/jindals-pro-intelligent-design-bill.html</ref>
*'''[[School prayer]]''':  Some conservative evangelicals are also extremely adamant about the need for government sanctioned, teacher-led, prayer in school.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=11457 Jerry Falwell, Defending Prayer in Schools]</ref> While there is no outright ban on school prayer (there are only restrictions on teacher-led prayer), Christians often like to claim persecution that they are not allowed in schools.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15204 WorldNetDaily: Texas school district threatens religious persecution]</ref> Many evangelicals like to claim that school shootings (most notably at Columbine High School) are a direct result of [[God]] being "banned" from schools.<ref>http://www.schoolprayerinamerica.info/Columbine.html</ref>
*'''[[Sex education]]''':  Some conservative evangelicals advocate [[abstinence]]-only sex education in schools.<ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1622610</ref> In their minds, they believe that children are taught as early as kindergarten "how to have [[sex]]", an accusation that is far from [[Truth|true]].<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/id/158314</ref>

===[[Middle East]]ern affairs===
*'''Israel''':  Some conservative evangelical Christians support [[Israel]] and Israel's right to defend itself<ref name="israel1">http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/washington/14israel.html</ref>. In their minds, Israel holds a special place in God's heart and to support Israel is to support God's Plan.<ref name="israel1" /> These people view any perceived lack of support of Israel as an outright attack, whether it be cutting back on the billions in aid<ref>http://wrmea.org/component/content/article/245-2008-november/3845-congress-watch-a-conservative-estimate-of-total-direct-us-aid-to-israel-almost-114-billion.html</ref> donated by the United States government<ref>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_8_123/ai_n16134271/</ref> or a failure to continually supply Israel with United States military equipment. The [http://christianactionforisrael.org/judeochr/biblical.html Christian Action for Israel] website gives several reasons for why some conservative evangelical Christians believe they owe Israel an allegiance, even at the expense of the United States at times.

===Separation of church and state===
{{Main|Separation of church and state}}
*Some conservative evangelical Christians, including [[Pat Robertson]], former Alabama Chief Justice [[Roy Moore]], and former House Majority leader [[Tom Delay]], strongly believe that there should be no barrier between Church and State.<ref>http://www.theocracywatch.org/separation_church_state2.htm</ref> They strongly support the idea that teachers, judges, and various other government employees should be able to display the [[Ten Commandments]] in their respective rooms.<ref>http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-13177283.html</ref> As one magazine article suggests, they are almost always against the acceptance of any other religion ''but'' Christianity.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,27389,00.html?iid=chix-sphere</ref>
*Some conservative evangelical Christians [[The United States as a Christian nation|believe that the United States was founded by Christians as a Christian nation]], and that by maintaining a separation of Church and State, we are failing to live up to the dream that they once had.<ref>http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/heritage.html</ref> As such, evangelicals overall view the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]] as attacking the core values of America in an attempt to destroy it.

===Marriage===
{{Main|Marriage}}
*Some conservative evangelical Christians largely view marriage as being between one man and one woman, with no exceptions. They strongly oppose [[gay marriage]], seeing it as disgusting and [[Morality|morally]] reprehensible.<ref>http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080606/survey-americans-divided-on-homosexuality-as-sin/index.html</ref>
*Some conservative evangelical Christians largely view [[divorce]] with distaste, although Jerry Falwell pointed out that there was a certain amount of forgiveness afforded for Ronald Reagan during his [[President of the United States|Presidential]] elections.<ref>http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/18/195338.aspx</ref>

==See also==
*[[Project 2025]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Theocracy]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]

Categories: Christian fundamentalism, Homophobia, Purity culture, Racism, Sexism, Theocracy, Transphobia