{"id":3904,"date":"2008-10-28T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-28T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/10\/redefining-morality\/"},"modified":"2008-10-28T07:30:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-28T13:30:00","slug":"redefining-morality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/10\/redefining-morality\/","title":{"rendered":"Redefining morality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many younger evangelicals are thinking outside the box promoted by their elders, and it may have consequences for the presidential race<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ricardo Luna is a 25-year-old evangelical Christian and a registered Republican who, if the election were today, would vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph Lange, a 30-year-old evangelical and Republican, will vote for Obama\u2019s GOP opponent, John McCain<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As Nov. 4 approaches, the two men may well symbolize the ongoing change in a culture group largely responsible for President Bush\u2019s<\/a> victories in 2000 and 2004 — evangelicals. Surveys show younger evangelicals have fractured politically as they have expanded beyond the traditional clutch of issues their elders have staked out as moral values.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Luna, a master\u2019s student at New Mexico<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype> in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, said he isn\u2019t certain he will vote for Obama. He\u2019s moved back and forth between supporting Obama and at least two Republican presidential candidates during this election cycle as he has struggled to weigh the importance of various issues about which he cares — some more traditionally liberal and others conservative.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lange, a law enforcement agent who also lives in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, said he won\u2019t vote for a pro-choice candidate, which eliminated all Democratic presidential hopefuls early on, but he also considered a number of candidates throughout the election cycle before settling on McCain.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lange said he does believe more evangelicals will vote for Obama this year than voted for John Kerry<\/a> in 2004 or Al Gore<\/a> in 2000. But he doesn\u2019t think the shift will be huge.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The question is whether the fracturing of the young evangelical vote will be enough to break up the voting bloc largely responsible for Bush\u2019s victories. Bush had the support of 68 percent of all white evangelicals in 2000. In 2004, he got the votes of 79 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The answer: It\u2019s not clear.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A July Pew survey<\/a> found that Obama trailed McCain among white evangelicals by 36 points. That was less than the 43 points by which Kerry trailed Bush at the same time in 2004. But a new Pew survey released last week<\/a> found that McCain\u2019s support among white evangelicals has climbed 6 points since July, while Obama\u2019s had remained largely unchanged. Undecided, white evangelicals appear to be moving toward McCain in the final weeks of the campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And, as The Economist recently reported<\/a>, McCain\u2019s lead of 44 points among white evangelicals in a September Pew survey was larger than Bush\u2019s 30-point lead over Gore in the summer of 2000.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no doubt that younger evangelicals are less united, politically, than their parents. A September 2007 Pew survey<\/a> found that white evangelicals ages 18-29 are less approving of the job Bush is doing than white evangelicals who are 30 and over. Since 2001, the survey found, party identification among young, white evangelicals has shifted away from Republicans (a 15-point loss) to independents (a 10-point gain) and Democrats (a 5-point gain).<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A larger universe of moral issues<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Randall Balmer<\/a>, a professor of religion at Columbia<\/st1:placename> University<\/st1:placetype> in New York<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, said there is undoubtedly a \u201cgenerational divide\u201d among evangelicals that \u201cis hobbling the religious right.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have on the one hand Chuck Colson<\/a> and James Dobson<\/a>, who persist in saying the only salient moral issues are abortion and same sex marriage,\u201d he said, but younger evangelicals see a larger universe of moral issues that includes global warming, the environment, AIDS and poverty.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you press (younger evangelicals), they will say, \u2018I am pro life,\u2019 or \u2018I believe homosexuality is a sin.\u2019 But there is no passion behind this,\u201d Balmer said, adding that sexual orientation is less of an issue to younger evangelicals than it is for the older generation, which seems obsessed by it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Balmer said the battle over abortion has made younger evangelicals perhaps more leery of the political process than their elders.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe younger generation is recognizing that abortion is becoming something of a canard,\u201d Balmer said. There was a period between the confirmation of Samuel Alito<\/a> to the U.S. Supreme Court and the mid-term elections in 2006 when Republicans controlled all three branches of the U.S.<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> government, but \u201cthey made no effort to outlaw abortion,\u201d Balmer said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That different way of looking at the world that some younger evangelicals bring to the political dialogue is straining what had been a coalition of evangelicals. At the same time, other evangelical voices are rising to take the place of the elder statesmen of the movement.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Folks like Rick Warren<\/a>, pastor of Saddleback Church<\/a> in California<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> who speaks passionately about fighting global poverty, are emerging. Jim Wallis<\/a>, who helped found Sojourners community<\/a> in Washington<\/st1:city>, D.C.<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, campaigns for social justice and criticizes the religious right\u2019s fiscal and foreign policies, winning fans on the religious left.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Abortion and homosexuality remain important<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The combination of new leaders and the expansion of what constitutes a moral value means that abortion and homosexuality remain important but not always make-or-break issues for younger evangelical voters.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Luna said he wishes abortion didn\u2019t happen, but electing Bush, who he called an \u201cincompetent president,\u201d didn\u2019t make it illegal. And Luna doesn\u2019t believe making abortion illegal would stop abortion — it would simply drive it underground. He said he wants to see a greater focus on education and communication that might help reduce the number of abortions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Luna takes a completely liberal stance on abortion. Though he supported Obama early on because of his stance on health care, he later became disenchanted because of the Democrat\u2019s opposition to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act<\/a>, which extends legal rights to infants born alive after failed abortion attempts and requires attempts to save them. Obama opposed the act in the Illinois Legislature, saying it would undermine Roe v. Wade<\/a>. Congress and the president approved the law in 2002.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Referring to that act, Lange called Obama\u2019s stance on abortion \u201cultra-liberal.\u201d He said wants to see more pro-life judges appointed to the Supreme Court and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pro-choice. You can choose to have sex or choose to not have sex. But once you do, you have to live with the consequences,\u201d Lange said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On homosexuality, Luna agreed with Balmer, saying he wants the government to have \u201cnothing to do with my bedroom.\u201d He said the same should apply to homosexuals, and he supports civil unions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lange said he doesn\u2019t hate homosexuals.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think God loves them. They should be welcome to come into the church, accepted and loved, but I don\u2019t think they should be ministers,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 <\/span>In the same way, if a pastor is having sex with anyone other than his wife, I don\u2019t think he should be a pastor.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Deciding who to support<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Since first becoming disillusioned with Obama, Luna has moved to supporting Ron Paul<\/a>, considering Mike Huckabee<\/a>, remaining undecided for awhile, supporting McCain and, currently, moving back to Obama\u2019s camp. In addition to being passionate about abortion, Luna said he is concerned about what are less conventional issues for evangelicals, such as access to medical care and retirement, because his faith drives him to want to help people.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Luna said the sex scandals of the last few years that dogged members of the \u201cso-called party of God,\u201d along with the Republican Party\u2019s lack of charity, have made him open to voting for Obama despite the Democratic candidate\u2019s stance on abortion. Luna said he\u2019s a big fan of the free market and small government, which is why he supported Paul for a time.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cBut we need some socialist controls to balance out the lack of caring of the ultra-conservative right, and so that\u2019s why I swing back and forth,\u201d Luna said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lange said he began the election cycle as \u201cone of those Ron Paul fanatics\u201d because of his belief in limited government and personal responsibility — the second a belief he said matches with God\u2019s giving people the choice to take responsibility for their eternity by choosing to follow Jesus or not.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

While Lange views McCain as too moderate and disagrees with him on many issues — including the recently approved financial bailout McCain supported — he agrees with McCain on what he considers three critical issues — guns, the Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> war and abortion. That, coupled with McCain\u2019s pick of the conservative Sarah Palin<\/a> as his running mate, was enough to convince Lange to vote for McCain instead of sitting the election out or backing a third-party candidate.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Will the youth break up the evangelical voting bloc?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Not everyone is sold on the idea that evangelicals are splintering in their support for the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Evangelicals will follow the Republican platform, at least \u201cfor the most part,\u201d said Ginnie Robertson, a 58-year-old evangelical living in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> who is \u201cunashamedly voting for McCain.\u201d Asked whether she expects the evangelical vote to split more than it did in 2000 and 2004, she said: \u201cI hope not. For me, it\u2019s open and shut, and I think for the most part New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> evangelicals think the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As a small-business owner, she supports lower taxes. As a Christian, she said she\u2019s \u201cadamantly pro-life\u201d and conservative on other social issues. The active volunteer with the county<\/st1:placetype> Republican Party<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> said everything she does \u201ccomes from a Christian worldview, especially when it comes to the work I do in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Many evangelical leaders are working to prevent a shift to the left. There are plenty of signs that the religious right is alive and well.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Vision America<\/a> rallies in Albuquerque<\/st1:city>, Roswell<\/st1:city> and Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in September kept abortion front and center. Headliners at the rallies, each of which attracted several hundred people, included evangelical leader Rick Scarborough<\/a>, musician Chris Holloway<\/a>, retired Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin<\/a> and actor Stephen Baldwin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Scarborough, speaking at the Las Cruces<\/st1:city> event, was highly critical of the state of affairs in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, suggesting that it is outrageous that someone who voted four times against the Born Alive Infants Protection Act could even run for president. Scarborough<\/st1:place> also said, \u201cWhen the homosexuals begin to come out of the closet and begin to declare their sin without shame, the nation is moving to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica<\/st1:country-region>\u2019s on the brink tonight,\u201d Scarborough<\/st1:place> told those in attendance. \u201c\u2026 How long do you think God is going to let this go on?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Many right-leaning evangelicals respond to the shift among some of their youth by pointing out that evangelicals, who make up roughly a quarter of America\u2019s population, have the potential to decide elections if they vote together. While 25 percent voted in 2000, 50 percent voted in 2004. Scarborough said during the Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> rally that if 75 percent of evangelicals \u201cvote their values, we win.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can pray until the cows come home, but sooner or later you\u2019ve got to realize, folks, that faith without works is dead,\u201d Scarborough<\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Putting faith above politics<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Luna and Lange, who are close friends, agreed that they can build close relationships and live in fellowship with those who don\u2019t share their political beliefs. Luna said in evangelical churches \u201cit\u2019s becoming less taboo to be something other than a Republican\u201d and referred to bestselling evangelical author Donald Miller<\/a>, 37, who has endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Obama, as a future leader of the church.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Luna said the shift toward more political diversity in the church comes in part from a realization that actions such as \u201chaving a beer\u201d aren\u2019t sins. Not doing what God wants is sin, and defining it is sometimes more complicated than focusing on traditionally hot-button issues.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lange said there are more core issues to his faith than political views, which is why he can befriend those with whom he does not always agree politically.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a Christian, then we can fellowship and that\u2019s the most important thing, and if you aren\u2019t a Christian, then my hope is that someday we can have that,\u201d Lange said. \u201cEither way, Jesus is what we have in common, whether it\u2019s something that we have now or whether it\u2019s something that I want us to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Trip Jennings<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> of the New Mexico Independent<\/a> contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many younger evangelicals are thinking outside the box promoted by their elders, and it may have consequences for the presidential race Ricardo Luna is a 25-year-old evangelical Christian and a registered Republican who, if the election were today, would vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama. Joseph Lange, a 30-year-old evangelical and Republican, will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}