Further Reading
Troeltsch, E. The Social T eaching of the Christian Churches.Lon-
don: Allen & Unwin, 1931.
Christian Right
A political group and movement in the United States
of America beginning in the 1970s. Associated with
Rev. Jerry Falwell, Marion “Pat” ROBERTSON, the Moral
Majority, the Christian Coalition, and the presidency
of Ronald REAGAN, the “Christian Right” is really a
loose coalition of conservative Protestants in the
United States. Rejecting the moral laxity of the liberal
churches and fiscal liberalism of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY,
the Christian Right claimed to be “pro-family, pro-
defense and pro-morality.” They work for legislation
against welfare programs, ABORTION, pornography, and
HOMOSEXUAL rights. Fervently anti-COMMUNIST, they
support a strong military defense. In the Middle East-
ern policy of the United States, they tend to be
strongly pro-Israel, seeing the Jews of the Bible as
God’s chosen people.
In practical politics, the Christian Right has tended
to be aligned with the REPUBLICAN PARTY. The group
enjoyed considerable influence in the presidential
administration of Ronald Reagan (1981–89) and to a
lesser extent during President George Bush’s adminis-
tration (1989–93), as reflected in the federal govern-
ment’s support for reduced social welfare programs,
restored PRAYER IN SCHOOLS, increased defense spend-
ing, and favorable treatment of EVANGELICALChristian
television media. Conservative evangelical Christians
supported George W. Bush’s election in 2000. The
Christian Right also campaigns for conservative state
officials and programs that influence education, wel-
fare, and criminal justice policies in many states (e.g.,
laws restricting abortion, divorce, and welfare; tough-
ening criminal penalties; and introducing religious
instruction, prayer, and “traditional values” in public
schools).
Demographically, members of the Christian Right
tend to be white, middle- or lower-middle-class, evan-
gelical or charismatic Christians. They often take a
providential COVENANTview of U.S. history, seeing the
United States as uniquely blessed of God and needing
to be obedient and faithful to God’s laws and ordi-
nances.
The Christian Right is often criticized by the
media, the Democratic Party, university academics,
and the liberal churches (as well as non-Christian
groups) as being intolerant, reactionary, and danger-
ous. Despite this opposition, the Christian Right’s
activity does not seem to be diminishing. Founding
many Christian schools and colleges (or home school-
ing) since the 1970s, these conservative Christian
activists now bring a new generation of believers to
politics in America.Further Reading
Rozell, Mark J., and Wilcox, Clyde, ed. God at the Grass Roots:
The Christian Right in the 1996 Elections.Lanham, Md.:
Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.church and state
Ideas on the proper relationship of “religion and poli-
tics” or relations between church and government.
Prior to the Judeo-CHRISTIANreligious tradition, and
still in many Eastern countries, no distinction was
made between worldly or secular authority and reli-
gious or spiritual authority. In the pagan Roman
Empire, rulers (or CAESARs) were considered gods, so
the state was worshiped as both an earthly and heav-
enly power. Both Jews and early Christians refused to
worship the king as they considered him a false god,
and they were persecuted as a consequence. Church
members in the Roman Empire were often forced to
light candles and bow down to government officials
and if they refused, were put to death. The emperor
Nero killed thousands of Christians who refused to
worship him.
With Emperor CONSTANTINE, Christianity became
first a legal, accepted religion and then the official reli-
gion of the Roman Empire (A.D. 330). The correct rela-
tionship of religion and government was addressed by
several prominent Christian theologians, including St.
AUGUSTINE, St. Thomas AQUINAS, Martin LUTHER, and
John CALVIN.
In the CATHOLICteaching (Augustine and Aquinas),
the church and state are separate but related, the for-
mer primarily concerned with spiritual teaching and
worship and the latter with police functions and mili-
tary defense. Because just laws require moral knowl-
edge and religion is the source of morality, the church
must advise the government on secular legal matters.
Ultimately, if the society and the church have a conflict
over a public issue, the church should prevail because
it is closer to God. This led to the Roman Catholic
Church and its leader, the pope, dictating laws to
European monarchs.56 Christian Right