The Evangelical Shift That Wasn't

In a departure from the divisive, pro-Republican tactics of evangelical leaders such as Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum actually brought the two presidential candidates onto the same stage for the first time (albeit not at the same time) during the campaign.

And the issues Warren pledged to tackle, such as global warming and international human rights, presented an obvious challenge to the Christian Right's narrow agenda of fighting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Recently, however, Warren's Southern California church has come to play a much different role, as a staging ground for heated demonstrations in support of the state's same-sex-marriage ban, which Warren vigorously supported and which voters passed on Election Day.

These days, Saddleback embodies the culture wars Warren had pledged to help end.

The protests -- and Warren's support for the same-sex-marriage ban, Proposition 8 -- are an important wake-up call that, for all the talk of an evangelical "branching out," evangelical politics hasn't changed so much after all.

Evangelicals are still much more concerned with so-called wedge issues than any other demographic group. A Barna Group poll found that 40 percent of evangelicals chose their presidential candidate based on his position on "moral issues," compared with 9 percent of other voters.

And the movement's leaders are still leading the conservative charge in the culture wars. Most of the 29 state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage that have passed were organized by Focus on the Family, its state affiliates and other evangelical activists.

Perhaps most strikingly, the anticipated evangelical shift away from McCain never happened. Despite widespread predictions that many evangelicals would stay home or pull the lever for Obama, McCain managed to collect more white evangelical voters than George W. Bush four years ago.

It wasn't supposed to happen that way. One of the most popular story lines of the 2008 campaign was that evangelical Christians were wiggling free from their longtime allegiance to the Christian Right and the GOP. A fall 2007 New York Times Magazine cover story headlined "The Evangelical Crackup" told how evangelicals were caring a lot less about wedge issues and a lot more about social justice.

Because of Obama's frequent Christian testimonials and robust religious outreach operation -- and McCain's reluctance to engage in either one -- many pundits predicted a sizable chunk of the typically Republican evangelical vote would wind up in the Democratic column.

And the issues Warren pledged to tackle, such as global warming and international human rights, presented an obvious challenge to the Christian Right's narrow agenda of fighting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Recently, however, Warren's Southern California church has come to play a much different role, as a staging ground for heated demonstrations in support of the state's same-sex-marriage ban, which Warren vigorously supported and which voters passed on Election Day.

These days, Saddleback embodies the culture wars Warren had pledged to help end.

The protests -- and Warren's support for the same-sex-marriage ban, Proposition 8 -- are an important wake-up call that, for all the talk of an evangelical "branching out," evangelical politics hasn't changed so much after all.

Evangelicals are still much more concerned with so-called wedge issues than any other demographic group. A Barna Group poll found that 40 percent of evangelicals chose their presidential candidate based on his position on "moral issues," compared with 9 percent of other voters.

And the movement's leaders are still leading the conservative charge in the culture wars. Most of the 29 state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage that have passed were organized by Focus on the Family, its state affiliates and other evangelical activists.

Perhaps most strikingly, the anticipated evangelical shift away from McCain never happened. Despite widespread predictions that many evangelicals would stay home or pull the lever for Obama, McCain managed to collect more white evangelical voters than George W. Bush four years ago.

It wasn't supposed to happen that way. One of the most popular story lines of the 2008 campaign was that evangelical Christians were wiggling free from their longtime allegiance to the Christian Right and the GOP. A fall 2007 New York Times Magazine cover story headlined "The Evangelical Crackup" told how evangelicals were caring a lot less about wedge issues and a lot more about social justice.

Because of Obama's frequent Christian testimonials and robust religious outreach operation -- and McCain's reluctance to engage in either one -- many pundits predicted a sizable chunk of the typically Republican evangelical vote would wind up in the Democratic column.

Source: Politico