the religious right and its critics Flashcards
why was Ronald R victorious in 1980 and 84?
- policies on taxation
- beliefs on the role of gov
- opposition of 1960’s permissiveness
- advocacy of traditional values
Phyllis Schlafly and Beverley LaHaye were the leaders if the religious right and had a membership of 500,000 strong for their CWA and far outnumbered NOW, what were they intending to do?
- disliked the counterculture, feminism, drug-taking, abortion, sexual liberalisation, homosexuality and pornography
- wanted the promotion of traditional values and males being the head of the household.
why did the religious right hold great social and political importance?
- increased the polarisation of America through the promotion of traditional values
- affected the outcome of the presidential elections, many of the religious right voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
how did the Religious right promote their belief of traditional family values?
- media
- organisations
- support for conservative politicians.
An example of an excellent user of these various methods was televangelist Jerry Falwell.
who was Jerry Falwell and what did he do?
he was a Baptist minister whose social conservatism was shown through his opposition of:
- smoking
- homosexuality
- drinking
- rock n roll
he believed women should submit to their husbands - he had a Old time gospel hour was broadcasted on 225 TV stations and 300 radio stations during the 80’s.
how did Jerry Falwell help Ronald r presidential campaign?
- raised millions of dollars
- contributed 2 millions voters from the moral majority.
when did the moral majority disband?
1989 - but other organisations appeared including the Christian coalition in 1989, whose aim was to lobby the government to enact social conservative legislation.
how many members did the christian coalition boast about having in 1992?
150,000 members and claimed to control the republican party.
when did the relationship between the RR and the republicans first forge?
1978, when the federal government (IRS) tried to end federal tax exemption for racially segregated christian schools.
what did Ronald Reagan believe in ?
- he had church values (despite rarely attending church himself) and supported the School prayer, although SC had ruled against that in 1962.
- he believed in teaching creationism and not Darwinism in schools
why did the religious right grow disappointed with RR ?
- he failed to endorse the Family Protection act which prohibited abortion and restored the school prayer.
how did reagan’s judicial strategy help promoted traditional values?>
- he appointed 400 Judges ( conservative )
- by the end of his presidency he had appointed 50% of the federal judiciary.
- George Bush ensured that 3/4 of his judiciary were conservative.
how did the Religious Right go about campaigning against abortion?
- emotive mailings
- encouraged reformed sinners ( feminists ) to speak out about how they renounced feminism.
- enlisted support from republican politicians.
- used tactics from the CRM and focused on the rights of the unborn child.
what was George W. Bush’s stance on abortion?
he had been pro-choice like his wife, however during his 1988 election he described abortions as “murder”.
why did the religious right become disapointed with the federal governments stance on the abortion issue?
- GB nominated David Souter whose views on abortion were unknown 1990
- RR appointed Sandra Day O’Connor who was sympathetic to women wanting abortions.
what actions by the government made the RR satisfied?
- Ronald R set up Chasity clinics which encouraged women to avoid sex
- Webster Vs reproductive services of Missouri verdict, meant that Missouri could turn someone away from using public abortion facilities.
did many states follow the same path Missouri did in terms of abortion?
not as many as the religious right hoped, only 3 did.
what case reaffirmed the Roe vs Wade verdict?
Casey Vs Planned parenthood - 1992 which ruled abortion to be unconstitutional.
what anti-gay groups were apart of the campaign against homosexuality?
Traditional values coalition and the umbrella voice whom supported Reagan in 1980
what disease caused the Campaign against homosexuality to gain further strength?
- aids
who were amongst the leading campaigners against homosexuality?
- Pat Robertson
- Pat Buchanan
- Jerry Falwell
- Jim Baker
- CWA
Televangelist pat Robertson set up the 700 club in 1966 which promoted Christian values, what did he do which damaged his cause?
he ran as the republican candidate against George Bush in 1988 and lost - where he publicly prayed to God that he wanted a hurricane to be diverted from Virginia to new York.
what law was passed which was anti-homosexuality?
1986 - sc ruled that criminalised sodomy in Georgia and 24 other states
why was the RR campaign against abortion more successful than their anti-gay campaign?
- they couldn’t use murder as a cause
- the main reason for it being ineffective is due to the SC having successes on same-sex marriage which undermined their cause.
statistics which show how there was a growth in drug use in America?
- 375,000 babies born addicted to cocaine/heroine.
- 12,000 drug related deaths per year
- 1/2 of citizens under 45 had tried marijuana at least once
- recreational drug use tripled since the 70’s
what did the war on drugs focus on ?
- eradicating foreign suppliers at the source , many small time users were arrested. Cocaine and other street drugs became cheaper and more widely available.
how did attitudes change towards the threat of drug-abuse?
1985 - 1% of America though it was a major national problem
1989 - 50 % of American thought it was a serious threat to national security.
what were the reasons behind the change in attitudes on drugs?
- crack became widely available
- escape route for social mobility as it became very profitable for blacks and Hispanics
- media coverage of babies with painful withdrawal symptoms of cocaine and crack addicts robbing in order to buy crack.
how did the “just say no” campaign begin ?
NR was criticised for being too extravagant and therefore wanted to get involved in charity work
- she believed the best way to end drug use was to use stricter discipline in education and promotion of traditional family values.
what two pieces of legislation went towards the war on drugs?
1986 - federal work places had to be drug-free with regular drug testing on employee’s
1989 - Drug-free workplace act - which banned drugs in universities or they would stop being given federal funding
what was the expenditure of the war on drugs?
$10 million dollars
which was mainly sent on imprisonment
- 750,000 drug violations
