Lately I've been bombarded with The Question: Is the religious right dead? The answer is still no. No doubt, some evangelical leaders, weary of the hateful rhetoric used in the name of their savior, outraged by the hypocrisy of the movement's fallen moralizers-in-chief, and disappointed they were duped by Bush's "compassionate conservative" pabulum, are forcing a conversation about the future of evangelical involvement in politics. Rank-and-file evangelicals are listening and discussing, and once-compliant stenographers of the "values voters" myth are paying attention. But many of us who write regularly about the religious right have consistently resisted lumping all evangelicals together, and have long recognized that the religious right represents a vocal, well-funded, and well-organized minority of Americans who have had a disproportionate impact on our political discourse. Critics point to polling data showing evangelicals' growing interest in ending global warming, poverty, war, and HIV/AIDS. All encouraging signs that perhaps we can have a rational conversation about the role of government in addressing these urgent issues -- not a conversation about whose version of Jesus is more righteous. The day has not yet come when we no longer are forced to listen to spew about secularists persecuting Christians, or Muslims bent on destroying Judeo-Christian culture, or the latest stealth tactic of the homosexual lobby to infiltrate our public schools, or that evolution is just a "theory," or that homosexuality can be "cured" through Jesus, or that the government is trying to "silence" the church or anything about non-believers getting left behind at the Rapture. In the zeal to declare victory over one's political adversaries, one can't pretend that they are not there. The political organization, media reach, and theological influence of those politically reactionary evangelicals are all very much alive and well. Read more about this, miracle Mike Huckabee, and the Grassley investigation in today's FundamentaList. --Sarah Posner
