Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"There's an obvious tension between serving God and engaging in the scrum of power politics, and indeed evangelicals like Jerry Falwell were once wary of political involvement. As a Southern Baptist, Falwell worried early in his career about Christians selling out their spiritual birthright for even a taste of the pottage of politics. In this, he was continuing a long line of strict separationists who wanted to build a wall of separation between church and state. Some of these thinkers favored disestablishment because they didn't want the church to pollute our politics (Thomas Jefferson). Others didn't want our politics to pollute the church (the Baptists). During the civil rights era, Falwell denounced black ministers for their political activism. In a 1965 sermon—delivered the day the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. led marchers from Selma to Montgomery—Falwell criticized the 'left-wing' leaders of the 'so-called freedom movement' for stirring up hatred and violence. 'Preachers are not called to be politicians but to be soul winners,' he said.

"But Falwell had a change of heart. Today he is remembered as the fundamentalist who, by co-founding the Moral Majority in 1979, officiated at the marriage of economic and cultural conservatism-the birth of the New Religious Right. [...]

"[...] The Moral Majority, which began as a 'pro-life, pro-family, pro-moral, and pro-American' organization, was from the start knee deep in the muck and mire of partisan politics. Its alliance with the GOP meant that its members would fight not only to overturn Roe v. Wade but also to oppose the SALT II treaty, teachers unions, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration."

-- Stephen Prothero, 2016-03-13