Amygdala (run by Constant Reader Gary Farber, who I believe is still looking for work, if you’ve got any) linked without real comment to this NYT article about the newer, hipper Christianity (Christian Cool and the New Generation Gap). As I recall, this sort of thing comes in waves, about every 20 years or so; the last time was the televangelists in the 1980s. Before that we had the street Christianity movement (or whatever they called it) of the 1960s; I don’t remember anything in particular about the 1940’s – big war going on anyway, which would skew stuff – but I dimly recall from my history classes that there were regular instances of tent revivals before that point.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that there has to be anything phony or insignificant about the current manifestation of popular religious interest: indeed, I consider this to be a hopeful sign for developing various forms of tolerance*. I just think that it’s funny when things like this are treated as new.
Moe
*My hopes for the Right? A full moral and ethical reconciliation between evangelical Christianity and homosexuals. My hopes for the Left? A full political and social reconciliation between evangelical Christianity and the Democratic Party. We could use both right now, frankly.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s they were called “Jesus Freaks” (a hippies version) and they are coming back a bit Gothy/Grudgy.
“The Great Awakening” is what you’re thinking of; here, for example. The the Second.
tell us the lesson that we should learn
Already happened, Moe.
There are plenty of evangelical Christians in the Democratic party: there are plenty of evangelical Christians who are gay, or who don’t base their moral values on what Jerry Falwell tells them the Bible says.
There are also plenty of people who call themselves evangelical Christians but who have forgotten (if they ever knew) what Christ taught about the blessings of poverty and the evils of moral self-righteousness. For those people, one can only hope that someday they learn that neither the gross accumulation of wealth nor the condemnation of others are Christian values. When they do, they can truly call themselves evangelical Christians. Until then, Matthew 23.
This seems to have become relevant to this thread.
Please understand, Moe (and anyone else), that I do not refer here to the relevant individuals as “kooks” because they are evangelical Christians; I do so because they are evangelical Christians who happen to be kooks. (The article also distinguishes.)
A full moral and ethical reconciliation between evangelical Christianity and homosexuals. My hopes for the Left? A full political and social reconciliation between evangelical Christianity and the Democratic Party.
What are the terms, again?
Then in 1988, when we won with the Bush senior campaign and carried the highest total of evangelical votes ever in American history, we lost as we always do — the Republicans — we lost the Jewish vote and the Hispanic vote and all those votes. We lost the Catholic vote. We were the first modern presidency to win an election and it was a landslide and not win the Catholic vote. It was barely, but we lost the Catholic vote.
How did we do it? We carried 82 percent or 83 percent of the evangelical vote. I remember when it was all over– this was one of the reasons I got a job in the White House — but I remember when it was all over, there was great shock from me and others saying, “Whoa, this is unhealthy.” We immediately began going after the Catholic vote.
While at the same time, we were frightened by the fact that we lost all these votes and still won the White House. The message did come home. My God, you can win the White House with nothing but evangelicals if you can get enough of them, if you get them all, and they’re a huge number. …
The Jesus Factor
The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party
The Christian Right and Theocracy
The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party
“The Republican Party of Texas affirms that the United States is a Christian nation.”
Texas Republican Party Platform, 2002
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Just ‘cuz.
Neotroll, please make it clearer in the future when you’re cutting and pasting. Italics, bold, quotes… the actual mechanism is unimportant, as long as it works and isn’t obnoxious.
Thanks in advance.
Moe
sorry
It’s cool; you had just reminded me of something that I had been vaguely meaning to do for a few months anyway. 🙂