No Longer Exiles

In the turbulent politics of the 1980s, few movements caused as much controversy as the newly mobilized "Religious New Right." It formed a crucial part of the Reagan coalition and helped transform the political life of several regions, notably the Sun Belt. But a directly related presidential candidacy, that of televangelist Pat Robertson, collapsed early, as other movement leaders (including Jerry Falwell) endorsed George Bush. By the end of the decade, both opponents and supporters were wondering just what the Religious New Right had accomplished, and what its potential was for the 1990s. Nine distinguished observers of the movement give their assessments in this provocative collection. Historian George Marsden of Duke, sociologist Robert Wuthnow of Princeton, and two political scientists, Robert Booth Fowler of the University of Wisconsin and Corwin Smidt of Calvin College, ponder the movement's past and future. Five other scholarsJames Guth, Carl F.H. Henry, James Davison Hunter, Grant Wacker, and George Weigeloffer challenging responses.