Abortion, Health Care Reform Revive Support For Christian Right

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 10 Sep 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The Christian right, which faced "questions before the presidential election about its continuing potency as a force for cultural and political change," has "found new life" in the health care reform debate by bringing its "bread-and-butter" issue of abortion to the forefront, the Washington Post reports.

Although some analysts say that abortion was not a prominent issue in the 2008 election, the Christian right has used it to drum up opposition to President Obama's health care reform efforts, claiming that reform will lead to mandated federal funding for coverage of abortion services. The Post reports that leaders of the movement are "riding high" on their success in creating opposition to Obama's health reform plans, as polls indicate that the health reform proposals in Congress are very unpopular among evangelicals. The most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found that more than seven in 10 white evangelical Protestants said they are dissatisfied or angry about Democrats' reform proposals.

Leaders of the Christian right are mobilizing their supporters to continue opposing health care reform through church gatherings, online town-hall meetings, e-mail and social networking campaigns, and fundraising appeals. In August, a group of three dozen conservative Christian organizations -- representing five million people -- formed the Freedom Federation and took on health care reform as its first issue. Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law and an organizer of the group, said that the Freedom Federation is "using the strengths of other organizations that understand the needs of their particular constituencies." FRC Action -- the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council -- has scheduled a webcast Thursday night in response to Obama's address to Congress on Wednesday night. FRC Action's webcast will feature comments from House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and others.

Some experts say the resurgence of the evangelical right is proving that predications of the group's collapse were premature. Michael Lindsay, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies evangelicals, said that "[m]ovements do better when they have something to oppose" because it is "easier to fundraise in those kinds of situations." He added that it is "easier to mobilize volunteers because you have an 'us versus them' mentality, and that plays very well right now for the Christian right."

However, several experts note that the recent resurgence of the Christian right does not help solve the movement's underlying problems, including a lack of younger leaders to replace older ones and finding ways to engage younger followers who want the movement to include a wider range of issues, the Post reports (Salmon, Washington Post, 9/9).

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