Moral Majority

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Jerry Falwell , founder of the Moral Majority

The Moral Majority was a well-known American political organization of the Christian right (religious right). It was founded in 1979 and disbanded in the late 1980s. She played a key role in mobilizing Christians as a political force and in the Republican presidential campaign of the 1980s.

history

Before founding

The origins of the Moral Majority can be traced back to 1976, when Jerry Falwell raised awareness of social issues at a number of I Love America rallies across the country. These rallies broke with the traditional Baptist principle of separating religion and politics and brought Falwell into public focus.

Structure and organization

Falwell and Paul Weyrich founded the Moral Majority in June 1979. Initially with strengths more in the south of the USA, the national associations grew quickly and were represented by organizations in eighteen states by 1980. Falwell was the most famous face of the organization in the 1980s.

The headquarters of the Moral Majority were in Lynchburg . The advisory board consisted of Baptists, Catholics and Jews, although Falwell's decision met with internal criticism.

The Moral Majority was an organization of predominantly conservative Christians who promoted moral principles that they believed represented the view of the majority of Americans (hence the name). With a peak of four million members and two million donors, the Moral Majority was one of the largest conservative lobby groups in the United States. These members were active in over twenty government organizations. In 1987, Falwell resigned as leader, but retained an active and visible role in the organization.

resolution

After Ronald Reagan's second term , Christian right-wing organizations in general were in a period of decline. Fundraising has declined, possibly because after eight years of the Christian right-wing presidency, the moral dangers were not perceived by voters as they were when Reagan first took office. Financial problems were ultimately an important factor in the decision to dissolve the organization. Falwell, however, justified it differently when announcing the dissolution of the Moral Majority in Las Vegas in 1989 and declared: “ Our goal has been achieved. [..] The religious right is solidly in place and [..] religious conservatives in America are now in for the duration. “(Our goal has been achieved. [..] The religious right has found its place and [..] religious conservatives in America are here to stay).

Organizational goals and composition

The moral majority tried to mobilize Conservative Americans using direct mail campaigns, telephone helplines, rallies, and religious television broadcasts. Although the Moral Majority only existed for a decade, it became a visible political force soon after its creation and was relatively effective in achieving its mobilization goals. After Robert Liebman and Robert Wuthnow , the following was decisive:

  • The Moral Majority was founded with strong financial backing.
  • The chairmen of the Moral Majority communicated intensively with their members and stood for a clear statement at all levels of membership.
  • The chairmen of the Moral Majority usually had extensive organizational experience.
  • The general public supported the issues emphasized by the moral majority.

This included:

  • Censorship of media promoting an “anti-family” agenda
  • Promote a traditional conception of family life
  • Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • Opposition to the state recognition and acceptance of homosexuality and the civil rights of homosexuals.
  • Prohibition of abortion also in cases of incest or rape or in pregnancies where the mother's life is at stake.
  • Support for Christian prayers in schools
  • Proselytizing Jews and other non-Christians

The Moral Majority had supporters in the two major US political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats , although they had far more influence in the exercise of the former.

Political participation

The moral majority, however, is probably best known for their participation in the presidential elections, particularly those of Ronald Reagan.

Presidential election

The election of Jimmy Carter as President of the United States in 1976 marked a milestone for evangelical Christians. For the first time an avowed Protestant Christian had been elected to the highest office in the country. Despite similarities in religious identity, however, evangelical Christians in general, and ultimately the newly established Moral Majority, had been disappointed by Carter's policies. Carter, however, tended to support the positions of his own party. Therefore, the Moral Majority decided to support Ronald Reagan's candidacy in 1980.

1980

The Moral Majority supported Reagan very early on. According to Jimmy Carter, “ that autumn [1980] a group headed by Jerry Falwell purchased $ 10 million in commercials on southern radio and TV to brand me as a traitor to the South and no longer a Christian. “(Bought a Jerry Falwell-led group for $ 10 million in Southern radio and TV commercials in the fall of 1980 to brand me a traitor to the South and unchristian) Even after winning the Republican nomination, the Moral Majority supported Reagan. After Reagan's victory, Falwell emphasized the impact on Reagan's success by activating churchgoers who had not previously been politically active to vote. There is some empirical evidence, even if a definitive causality cannot be proven.

Reagan later involved members of the majority moral leadership in his campaign and then in the government.

1984

The Moral Majority also supported Reagan in re-election in 1984 and promoted their positions on school prayers and abortion on the Republican manifesto. However, the nation's political climate had changed since Reagan's first campaign. Although Reagan won, the role of the moral majority had changed since 1980. More anti-moral majority voters had voted for Walter Mondale than pro-moral majority voters for Reagan; thus the moral majority had actually had a negative effect on Reagan's campaign.

1988

In 1988 the Moral Majority last appeared in a presidential election. The Republican nomination was open to a wide variety of candidates. The evangelical pastor and television preacher Pat Robertson ran for the Republican nomination and at first glance would have been the natural choice of the moral majority, since Robertson's political ideas were very similar to those of the moral majority. At the same time, Falwell supported George HW Bush and thus showed not only the rivalry between Falwell and Robertson as television preachers, but also the deep-seated tension between competing evangelical directions.

Challenges to the Moral Majority

In the late 1980s the moral majority views were widely challenged and the organization began to crumble. With dwindling support, critics began to call the organization “neither moral nor a majority”. In 1988 there were serious liquidity problems and Falwell dissolved the organization the following year.

The Moral Majority Coalition

In November 2004, Falwell revived the name Moral Majority for a new organization, the Moral Majority Coalition . The organization's intent is to continue the "evangelistic revolution" and to help support conservative politicians in elections. With the reference to the coalition as the "Resurrection of the Moral Majority 21st Century", Falwell had pledged himself to be chairman for four years, but died on May 15, 2007.

Known people within the movement

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Robert Liebman, Robert Wuthnow (1983): The New Christian Right New York: Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-202-30307-1 , p. 58.
  2. ^ A b Patrick Allitt (2003): Religion in America Since 1945: A History New York: Columbia University Press . ISBN 0-231-12154-7 , p. 152.
  3. ^ Deal W. Hudson: Onward, Christian Soldiers. Simon and Schuster, 2008, ISBN 978-1-416-56589-5 , p. 15 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  4. ↑ Robert Liebman, Robert Wuthnow (1983): The New Christian Right New York: Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-202-30307-1 , pp. 31-32.
  5. ^ Daniel K. Williams : Jerry Falwell's Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority . (Fee) In: Cambridge University Press (Ed.): Journal of Policy History . 22, No. 02, April 2010, pp. 125-147. doi : 10.1017 / S0898030610000011 . Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Patrick Allitt (2003): Religion in America Since 1945: A History New York: Columbia University Press . ISBN 0-231-12154-7 , p. 153.
  7. ^ Clyde Wilcox (1996): Onward Christian Soldiers? Boulder: Westview Press . ISBN 0-8133-2696-6 , p. 96.
  8. ^ Clyde Wilcox (1996): Onward Christian Soldiers? Boulder: Westview Press . ISBN 0-8133-2696-6 , p. 38.
  9. ^ Clyde Wilcox (1992): God's Warriors Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press , ISBN 0-8018-4263-8 , p. 14.
  10. ^ Patrick Allitt (2003): Religion in America Since 1945: A History New York: Columbia University Press . ISBN 0-231-12154-7 , p. 198.
  11. ↑ Robert Wuthnow (1988). The Restructuring of American Religion , p. 205. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07759-2 .
  12. ↑ Robert Liebman, Robert Wuthnow (1983): The New Christian Right New York: Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-202-30307-1 , pp. 55-57.
  13. ↑ Moral Majority. In: Columbia Encyclopedia , 6th Edition, Columbia University Press , 2004.
  14. ^ Falwell: An Autobiography, The Inside Story, Liberty House Publishers, Lynchburg, 1997, p. 395.
  15. ↑ Robert Liebman, Robert Wuthnow (1983): The New Christian Right New York: Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-202-30307-1 , p. 36.
  16. ↑ Jimmy Carter: White House Diary . Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, NY 2010, p. 469.
  17. Jump up ↑ Clyde Wilcox (1992): God's Warriors Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press , ISBN 0-8018-4263-8 , p. 96.
  18. ↑ Clyde Wilcox (1992): God's Warriors Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press , ISBN 0-8018-4263-8 , pp. 115-117.
  19. ↑ Robert Liebman, Robert Wuthnow (1983): The New Christian Right New York: Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN 0-202-30307-1 , p. 60.
  20. ↑ Kenneth Wald (1997): Religion and Politics in the United States Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press. ISBN 1-56802-157-7 , p. 137.
  21. ^ Johnson, Stephen D. and Joseph B. Tamney: The Christian Right and the 1984 Presidential Election 1985, p. 125. Review of Religious Research 27 (2) . In: unknown . September, pp. 124-133.
  22. ↑ Johnson, Stephen D. and Joseph B. Tamney: The Christian Right and the 1984 Presidential Election 1985, p. 124. Review of Religious Research 27 (2) . In: unknown . September, pp. 124-133.
  23. ^ Clyde Wilcox (1992): God's Warriors Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press , ISBN 0-8018-4263-8 , p. XV.
  24. ↑ G. Utter, J. True: Conservative Christians and Political Participation - A Reference Handbook. ABC Clio, Santa Barbara, California, 2004, ISBN 1-85109-513-6 , p. 68.
  25. Jump up ↑ Moral Majority Timeline. Archived from the original on March 19, 2007 ; accessed on January 14, 2015 .
  26. ↑ Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell dies. In: msnbc.msn.com. May 15, 2007, accessed January 14, 2015 .