Postings on this blog have often focused on abortion, as well as the irreparable divide between Republicans and Democrats on this issue. However, I think most of these posts have overlooked an interesting phenomenon: the rise of young evangelicals, most of whom are the products of the Christian Right. These evangelicals have grown up in Sunday school. Some have gone to Christian schools or were even homeschooled. This voting bloc is the first generation to grow up during the rise of the Christian Right, and their voting patterns, especially on the issue of abortion, are interesting to study as a result.
As this article makes clear, Barack Obama was extremely successful, compared to previous Democratic presidential candidates, in gaining votes among self-described evangelicals. During his presidential campaign, Obama worked hard to court evangelicals, talking about issues they care about: social justice, caring for the poor, the need to end the war in Iraq. He won 42 percent of evangelical votes. However, this so-called “narrowing of the God gap” could be very tenuous.
As Martin shows in his book With God on Our Side, the Republican Party has deliberately lined itself up with evangelical values, particularly on the sanctity of the family and abortion issues (213). This has provided them with a strong and loyal base for the past thirty years. And even now, when it appears that many evangelicals might break ranks with the Republicans, they can still be won back.
While I agree with the authors of the article that the GOP has a very good chance of bringing the young people ‘back into the fold’, I don’t think it will be as easy as they make it sound. The policy changes they call for will require a dramatic shift in the party’s platform, a change that won’t happen overnight. Besides, older Republicans might resist the need to expand their ideals to gain a bigger audience. However, it is crucial for Republicans to realize that a strong stance on abortion, and even other social issues, such as homosexuality, gay marriage, the sanctity of the family, and the evolution debate, while still important, won’t hold as much sway over younger voters.
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I agree with Hannah that there will be definitely be many challenges for the GOP during an attempt to recapture the loyalty of young evangelical voters. However, I’m not sure that the policy shift will be as dramatic as she seems to suggest. It’s not as though stances on issues need to be completely reversed, rather that certain issues need more spotlight. In other words, while it will be good to focus on issues such as abortion as long as the Democrats continue to disagree with evangelicals, it will also become increasingly important to incorporate other moral issues that evangelicals might care about in order to keep their interest in the GOP. If the Democrats can make the shift to include some evangelicals, surely the GOP will also be able to make the shift to recapture support.
Hannah provides quite an interesting view of how the Republicans must react to regain their political support from young evangelicals. However, I don’t fully agree on the matter that the Republicans have to simply expand their ideals to gain back their lost supporters. The Republicans need to first understand why they lost loyal support from the young evangelicals and what made them attracted to the oppositional party, in order to successfully reestablish a loyal political relationship with the young evangelicals. This task for the Republicans can be a daunting challenge due internal constraints such as the Old Guard Republicans refusing to consider such an option.
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