When liberals begin attacking the Religious Right, I wish they would acknowledge their debt to the Religious Left. It has been around longer and been more involved in politics than the Religious Right. Also, I wish liberals would acknowledge that they helped create the Religious Right.
The Religious Left began in the 19th century when some Christian leaders became involved in left-wing politics and created the Social Gospel. Fundamentalists overreacted and largely avoided politics in the name of being separated from the world. Even after the Roe vs. Wade and the ban on school prayer, conservative Christians said the church should stay out of politics. They said our job wasn't to save the world by politics but to save people out of the world by the Gospel. Anyway, Jesus would fix everything when He returned some time before 1987 (i.e. within 40 years or a generation of Israel's re-establishment).
Then came the election of 1976. Jimmy Carter became the first American presidential hopeful to use his personal religious beliefs as part of his campaign for office. Other presidents from Truman to Nixon had been content to pose with Billy Graham, but Carter made a blatant appeal for the Christian vote. And it worked.
I know many Christians who had voted for Barry Goldwater and George Wallace who switched to Carter because he was a Christian without examining his politics. As Carter's term ended, Christians became disillusioned with the Democrats, but enjoyed their political clout. They gravitated toward the Republicans in the next election, and the Religious Right was born.
Liberals can condemn the Religious Right, but they helped start it by trolling for votes in fundamentalist churches. Liberals sound like Dr. Frankenstein whistling past the grave yard, saying, "Monster? What monster? Blame Ygor."
