Jimmy Carter, The Politics Of Family, And The Rise Of The Religious Right (since 1970: Histories Of Contemporary America Ser.)

As Jimmy Carter ascended to the presidency the heir apparent to Democratic liberalism, he touted his background as a born-again evangelical. Once in office, his faith indeed helped form policy on a number of controversial moral issues. By acknowledging certain behaviors as sinful while insisting that they were private matters beyond government interference, J. Brooks Flippen argues, Carter unintentionally alienated both social liberals and conservative Christians, thus ensuring that the debate over these moral “family issues” acquired a new prominence in public and political life. The Carter era, according to Flippen, stood at a fault line in American culture, religion, and politics. In the wake of the 1960s, some Americans worried that the traditional family faced a grave crisis. This newly politicized constituency viewed secular humanism in education, the recognition of reproductive rights established by __Roe v. Wade__, feminism, and the struggle for homosexual rights as evidence of cultural decay and as a challenge to religious orthodoxy. Social liberals viewed Carter’s faith with skepticism and took issue with his seeming unwillingness to build on recent progressive victories. Ultimately, Flippen argues, conservative Christians emerged as the Religious Right and were adopted into the Republican fold. Examining Carter’s struggle to placate competing interests against the backdrop of difficult foreign and domestic issues―a struggling economy, the stalled Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, disputes in the Middle East, handover of the Panama Canal, and the Iranian hostage crisis―Flippen shows how a political dynamic was formed that continues to this day. As Jimmy Carter ascended to the presidency the heir apparent to Democratic liberalism, he touted his background as a born-again evangelical. Once in office, his faith indeed helped form policy on a number of controversial moral issues. By acknowledging certain behaviors as sinful while insisting that they were private matters beyond government interference, the author argues, Carter unintentionally alienated both social liberals and conservative Christians, thus ensuring that the debate over these moral "family issues" acquired a new prominence in public and political life. The Carter era, according to the author, stood at a fault line in American culture, religion, and politics. In the wake of the 1960s, some Americans worried that the traditional family faced a grave crisis. This newly politicized constituency viewed secular humanism in education, the recognition of reproductive rights established by Roe v. Wade, feminism, and the struggle for homosexual rights as evidence of cultural decay and as a challenge to religious orthodoxy. Social liberals viewed Carter's faith with skepticism and took issue with his seeming unwillingness to build on recent progressive victories. Ultimately, thar author argues, conservative Christians emerged as the Religious Right and were adopted into the Republican fold. Examining Carter's struggle to placate competing interests against the backdrop of difficult foreign and domestic issues, struggling economy, the stalled Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, disputes in the Middle East, handover of the Panama Canal, and the Iranian hostage crisis, the author shows how a political dynamic was formed that continues to this day Flippen (history, Southeastern Oklahoma State U.) argues that it is no coincidence that the Carter years witnessed the formation of the most prominent religious right organizations. He claims that by acknowledging certain behaviors as sinful while simultaneously insisting that they were private matters beyond government interference, Carter, a born-again Christian, unintentionally alienated both social liberals and conservative Christians, which triggered the resurgence of the debate over moral 'family issues' in public and political life. He describes how professional conservative strategists sought to lure religious conservatives to the Republican Party. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)