The story of the "broadening evangelical agenda" -- evangelicals' political engagement with issues such as climate change, poverty and HIV/AIDS -- reached a new level of visibility in 2006 with the devastating mid-term losses by Congressional Republicans, even in blood-red districts. President Obama's doubling of John Kerry's support among young Evangelicals in 2008 indicated that politics were truly changing in the heart of Jesusland.
The way this story has played out in the media over the past few years has by now become common knowledge: conservative individual X takes surprisingly progressive stance Y, often accompanied by a sign-on statement filled with other surprising conservatives. This, like all man bites dog! stories, was newsworthy in its time. We Evangelicals have become well-known as a curious, dog-biting species.
However, the broadening Evangelical agenda narrative is winding to a close, and another phenomenon--seemingly similar and yet critically different -- is rising to take its place: the maturation of the first generation of Evangelicals with no memory of the culture wars of the 1960s and 1970s, and no inclination to fight those battles.
This week marks the public launch of the Two Futures Project, a new movement of Christians, led by younger Evangelicals, for the global abolition of nuclear weapons. This seems somehow fitting. How, after all, could we look ahead without abolishing forever the ungodly specter of these indiscriminate weapons?
Further, the nonpartisan, pan-Christian support we have received from wise, older saints - from Chuck Colson to Jim Wallis to Reagan Secretary of State George Shultz -- is itself a testament to the readiness of history to turn: we're seeing veteran Cold Warriors wishing their children and grandchildren peace and freedom from the battles they fought.
This does not mean that younger Evangelicals are becoming secular progressives. We still believe intractable, unavoidably divisive things like the atonement of the cross, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and his literal resurrection from the dead, and the inspired authority of the Bible. We have no intention of throwing this orthodoxy under the bus for the sake of social acceptability.
The generation of Evangelicals currently coming into maturity, however, will decreasingly understand itself in contradistinction to more progressive politics, as the previous generation has largely done. As a result, though we will continue to have profound differences with many progressives -- and conservatives -- there will also be significant areas of overlap and co-belligerency on matters of mutual concern and the common good.
Finally, we can certainly draw (at least) three conclusions about the future of Evangelical political engagement.
First, Evangelicals will be less politically powerful than we have been in recent decades. Voters willing to pull the lever on one or two issues alone win elections. A diverse constituency with broad interests does not. This will be good for the American Evangelical soul. We'll see what it does for the country.
Second, we will increasingly work across internal divisions for common cause, though this change will probably be inscrutable to non-Christians who wouldn't know an Arminian from a TULIP Baptist. This is not to say that doctrine and theology have ceased to matter, but I expect that we'll fight those battles in parallel with, rather than prior to, work on mutual social concern.
Third, familiar political distinctions will lose their descriptive value for us. Younger Evangelicals are coloring way outside the lines of a blue/red dichotomy. In this new environment, traditional definitions of conservative and liberal will be stripped of their traditional landmarks and cease to be meaningful. This, too, is for the good. Political divisions based on the left-right seating plan of human legislatures never did lend itself to good cartography for the kingdom of God, anyhow.
The Rev. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, born 1977, is the founder and director of the Two Futures Project. Those with eyes to see can follow him on Twitter @2FP.
Follow Rev. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/2FP
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"I've always believed that trying to legislate a Christian agenda is like the "tail wagging the dog".
True Christians know that people must come to God willingly and their mandate from God, is to offer those who they believe are sinners, God's salvation.
Too many people who call themselves Christians today, are the lazy "backslapping country club" kind, who go to church to be with people like themselves. They treat the church like a country club that can exclude people."
Well said.
Thank God for the change! The old Generation it seems because of their dogma, will die in the wilderness, while the new generation will enter their promise land.
Just today in HuPo is a piece about how the majority of evangelicals still think torture is acceptable and justifiable. If you really love God, and love your neighbor as yourself, you will have to leave the evangelical culture and theology behind, and bravely step into the light . . .
And likewise, you have no intention of ever being anything other than barbarically cruel to gays.
That's all well and good but do you believe in the power of the word to convict the heart or do you want to continue to shortcut the work of the Holy Spirit by gaining political control and coercing people to follow your beliefs? Are you willing to use the power of evangelism to convict the heart of a young woman and steer her away from having an abortion are do you want to control her body from the Supreme Court? Do you want to use the loving grace of God to convince a man not to practice his homosexuality or do you want to use the laws to deny him his rights? Finally, are you willing to be co-opted by the Republican Party in order to gain leverage or will you be in the world but not of it and be true to the Word of God and speak truth to power including to Republicans?
I've always believed that trying to legislate a Christian agenda is like the "tail wagging the dog".
True Christians know that people must come to God willingly and their mandate from God, is to offer those who they believe are sinners, God's salvation.
Too many people who call themselves Christians today, are the lazy "backslapping country club" kind, who go to church to be with people like themselves. They treat the church like a country club that can exclude people.
Some of these statements are somewhat contradictory. Religion is diametrically opposed to science. How can you understand the damage that climate change can cause without having at least some understanding of evolution and the amount of time that the earth has existed? (Sorry fundamentalists, it's not 6k years old). I agree that many younger evangelicals aren't fighting these battles yet, but it's simply because most of them don't understand the battles. Fundamentalists have actually bred themselves too unintelligent to maintain an adequate theocratic aristocracy inside the movement. Youth ministers are growing up without a proper understanding of religion's stance on the issues, and then they're going out and becoming pastors.
On the other hand, if your point is that religion is going to start avoiding getting involved in politics, then I'm absolutely 100% behind that sentiment. I can't grasp the immense ignorance when I attend a church service and the pastor spends his time railing against liberals and specific politicians.
Spirituality to me is fine. There are some things that science cannot yet explain, but organized christian religion has been corrupted and commercialized beyond repair.
Larger point:: Good on y'all, Jason. Seems to me if God created the world, the least Christians could do is try not to destroy it.
I truly appreciate the ideas and plans that have been mentioned. It would truly be miraculous to see whole communities and groups actually taking action to stem the tide of nuclear proliferation as well as working on HIV/AIDS and other social causes.
Not good for any society. Reeks of policies that'll discriminate LGBTs and even reduce the rights of women. I'd accept a Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist backed political movement any day (because they're much more accepting that fundamentalist christianity) than yours. Lets not forget the separation of church and state. Please, lets not forget that.
As a Christian, I find respect for the environment and care for those less fortunate to be not only socially correct, but scripturally correct, as well. I agree with the Reverend that young Christians are realizing this, as well.