Onward Christian Soldiers?: The Religious Right in American Politics

They have money, influence, power--and they turn out to vote. "They" are groups like Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, and Concerned Women for America--all parts of the Christian Right. But, are they a serious threat to religious liberty, bent on creating a theocratic state, or the last defenders of religion and family values in America? Bringing the story of the religious right up to the Obama administration, this revised fourth edition explores the history of the movement in twentieth and early twenty-first century American politics. The authors review the expansion of the Christian Right through George W. Bushrs"s second administration and evaluate how the religious right fared in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Although figureheads of the religious right remain in the news, their power in Washington may be declining, and the authors consider the fate of the religious right under the Obama administration. Examining how the religious right both does and does not fit into the proper role of religious groups in American politics,Onward Christian Soldiers?is an essential addition to the Dilemmas in American PoliticsSeries.

Clyde Wilcox is professor of government at Georgetown University. He has published a number of books on religion and politics in the United States and abroad, and on interest group politics, including Interest Groups in American Elections: The New Face of Electioneering and The Values Campaign: The Christian Right in the 2004 Elections. He also writes on gender politics, campaign finance, and the politics of science fiction.   Carin Robinson is visiting professor of political science at University of Mary Washington. She has published articles about religion and the Bush presidency, the lobbying of religious groups in state election, and on evangelicals in American politics.