Centerfield

The Evangelical monolith?

Here's a nice little article in "Christianity Today" about the politics of evangelicals. The focal point is President Bush's commencement speech at Calvin College.

Several Calvin faculty received national media attention because they disagreed with the President's politics. The size of the protest ultimately was smaller than billed but

Undeterred by reality, The New York Times struggled the morning after commencement to maintain the Rove-tricked-by-Calvin storyline. In "Preaching to the Choir? Not This Time," Times White House correspondent Elisabeth Bumiller wrote, "At first glance, it seemed as if a mainstay of Mr. Bush's base, the Christian Right, had risen up against him. At second glance, the reality was more complex. The protests at Calvin showed that Mr. Bush's evangelical base was not monolithic and underscored the small but growing voice of the Christian Left."

What we have here are two common journalistic mistakes: assuming something is news if the reporter didn't know about it before, and reaching for a trend that doesn't really exist. In fact, Bumiller gets things exactly backward: For the vast majority of American history, evangelicals have been anything but a monolithic voting bloc. They helped Democrats hold the Solid South under segregation, fueled William Jennings Bryan's unsuccessful Democratic bids for a populist presidency, and gave moral impetus to Republican abolitionist and Reconstruction efforts.

Granted 20% of evangelicals opposing GW is not a huge problem. I think the greater issue here is how evangelicals are stereotyped in the media. From what I've seen and heard of GW's personal faith Calvin seems to fit it better than say Liberty University (Falwell's college). The article does mention the possibly growing Christian Left but I'd suggest the larger uncovered story is the already sizeable and unnoticed Christian middle. (NOTE: my personal opinion.) Anyway the article closes with a nice quote from a student Republican

Bush's trek to Calvin showcased a healthy diversity of evangelical thought and political opinion that too often escapes unfamiliar observers. "If ever there [was] a story about respectful dialogue, the kind of political engagement which this country needs right now, there it was," Nate Bulthuis, outgoing chair of Calvin College Republicans, told me Monday. "But by the very nature of its respectfulness, the news media didn't have the time to cover it." It's not that the Times and Post didn't have time, Nate. Who needs reality when fantasy is more fun?