The religious right returns
Mixing politics with religion dominant - the real reason behind “The Response”.
So exactly what kinds of seeds were sown? After all, none of the Republican candidates had any face time at this Response. The lack of any visible sponsors or even a contact page on the Response’s Web sitecould lead people to believe that this “call for prayer for a nation in crisis” is a genuine spirit led venture.
But when one juxtaposes the timing of these four Responses with the Republican primary dates in each of these respective states, these events take on a more political than prayer led focus. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State states, “They’re using the power of prayer for a powerful political purpose. This is a pretty hard edge political get out the evangelical vote campaign effort that will be utilized for partisan purposes in the future.”
From all outward appearances, the evangelical foot soldiers on the ground in seem to be laying out a battle plan designed to return America to her “Christian” roots. The November issue of Church & State reports how email addresses collected from attendees at Perry’s Response were compiled by the American Family Association (AFA) and used to disseminate information about Champion the Vote. This voter drive is part of larger campaign titled United In Purpose, a group that has been playing an active role in renewal events in key states like Iowa. United In Purpose also hosted events such as the One Nation Under God house partie and the Rediscover God in America Web cast. Incidentally, Gingrich was the only candidate invited to address both godly events.
But will evangelical conservatives desperate to elect anyone but Mitt Romney actually cast their vote for Gingrich? Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, penned an open letter to Gingrich telling him that if he wants the evangelical vote, he needs to pick a pro-family venue and deliver a speech to address his marital history. According to Land, “Such a speech would not convince everyone to vote for you, but it might surprise you how many evangelicals, immersed in a spiritual tradition of confession, redemption, forgiveness and second and third chances, might.”