How do faith-based groups influence policy?

Andrew Moxon

Professor Heather Piedmont, MA

GOVT 328

04/20/2020

Research Outline

Research Question

How do faith-based groups influence policy?

Thesis

The Christian Coalition faith group influences political and public policies in America.

Religion and state are two distinct and independent entities which have common grounds on a number of the issues that affect the citizens of the United States. The state plays a vital role in religious affairs of the different churches and foundations in different parts of the country.[1] Religion has a vital significance in state affairs, political affairs and the governance of the state; the Christian coalition is one of the organizations that have had a significant influence on the political affiliations of the people of the United States.[2] This paper seeks to find out how faith-based groups influence policy in the United States and more specifically, how the Christian Coalition influences political and political policies in America. This research is essential as it strives to depict the unique relationship between the state and religion.

The targeted audience for this research is mainly the citizens of the United States of America in general. It targets the youth, elderly and the middle-aged in the society and most importantly people from the different religious affiliations. The paper is of interest to the different people in the United States who subscribe to different denominations as it helps them to comprehend the relationship between the state and the different religions they associate themselves with.[3] It is critical to note that most individuals do not understand the link that exists between the state and religion. The roles played by the two entities in different affairs and what influence they have on each other and the impact of the roles played in the political life of the citizens of America. The citizens need to understand the relationship between the state and religion so that they can have a platform to participate in such state-building activities.[4]

The Christian Coalition was formed by Pat Robertson, who was a media personality after he failed in the presidential bidding of the united states in 1988. Robertson was a political commentator as well as a religious broadcaster who used his failure to establish the Christian coalition. He used the remainder of his funds to create awareness to citizens on their voter rights. The organizations mainly consisted of conservative Christians who had an interest in political affairs of the United States.[5] The organization was made up of four directors who assisted each other in ensuring the purpose of the foundation was met. Christian coalition, after its establishment, sought to be exempted from filing revenue. However, the request was denied because it was a charitable organization that engaged in political activities, therefore not meeting the set criteria for a charitable organization that should be exempted from paying tax.

In 1990, the organization started providing non- partisan voter guides to conservative church around Virginia. In 1997, Pat Robertson was replaced by Donald Hodel who was to serve as the president of the Christian Coalition Association henceforth, and it was in this same year that the institution was recognized among the top ten powerful organization in the United Staes by the Fortune Magazine; it was ranked seventh in position.[6] The foundation applied for tax exemption again, but it was declined on the ground of discrimination or rather their activities were voter partisan since they only provided voter guides to conservative churches only. A disagreement arose between Hodel and Pat in 1999, which led to Hodel stepping down, and Pat took over again but transferred his authority to Roberta combs in 2000.[7]

In 2000 the organization changed its location from Virginia to Washington and later to South Carolina. During the time Combs took control over the institution to 2006, the foundation’s influence declined due to lawsuits and the organization was also at the bridge of a becoming bankrupt. In 2005, the group attained a tax exemption status after many fights in court against the internal Revenue service.[8] It was during this period that other Christian groups split from the parent group to serve their designated areas. There were major disagreements on the philosophies and values that the organization should adopt, which triggered the splitting of the group into smaller organizations.[9] The main issue was that the group did not support abortion and same-sex marriages as they termed them to be against the provisions and values of Christianity. Christianity believes in the preservation of life and foundation of the family. Other officials and members of the group supported abortion and gay marriages.

The Christian coalition has various philosophies and techniques that it has inculcated in how it conducts its affairs. Firstly, the group endeavours to preserve the values of the concept of the family and ensure that the government works towards the concept of protecting the families and the different values that religions possess.[10] The Christian Coalition is the largest conservative political group in the United States that provides voter education to citizens every election period. The technique the organization uses is through education, the citizens of the United States on their political and voter rights through the distribution of voter guidelines.[11] The voter guidelines provide instructions that are well detailed and easy for the people on they can rightly vote. The organization also represents individuals before local councils, state legislatures and Congress as well as train people for efficient political actions.[12] The organization also organizes seminars and meetings around the country that equips individuals with the necessary skill and abilities to protest in critical issues that affect them.

The organization is grounded on the task of voter education in the United States; it is for this reason that every election year it distributes voter guidelines which provide information to voters on how they are to vote. The organization also conducts events where they educate individuals of their political rights and train interested people in their political careers. Christian Coalition is recognized under 501 (c)(4) which also gives it its mandate and powers to carry out its activities. It is through this recognization was able to be recognized as a charitable organization and exempted from payment of taxes.[13] The organization is also of great significance to the activities of the United States because of its political influence on people, and it is for this reason that it can appear before local councils, the congress legislatures and school boards. The activities of the group have a great and positive impact on the passing old laws as it is mainly made of conservatives.

Freedom of religion is a right that is recognized under the first amendment clause that ensures that every citizen has a fundamental right to enjoy the right of his or her religious beliefs. The law ensures that this is done without the interference of the state and discrimination from any person. The principle of equality is one of the foundations of the bill of rights that was first recognized in the French declaration of 1789. [14]Every person shall not be discriminated on the ground of their religious beliefs and values; they are all to receive equal treatment. The government is also exercising the principle of equality as it does not recognize one religion at a pedestal over others, and it is, for this reason, there is no state religion.[15] The government of the United States recognizes the many different denominations that exist and their freedom to worship is left to the people to exercise free will.

Religion plays significant roles in the affairs of the government. One of the areas in which the religion has played a role is the enactment of laws. The citizens ensure that the laws passed are consistent with their Christian values and beliefs. For example, the conservatives are against the laws permitting abortion and the celebration of same-sex marriages.[16] The abortion laws faced significant rejection from Christians and other religions such as the Islamic religion as they consider it to be morally wrong. Secondly, religion also plays a role in state issues during the swearing-in of government officials; it is observed that the elected and appointed officials take an oath per their religious beliefs.[17] Thirdly, it has been observed that in certain local council’s assemblies, they commence with a prayer to acknowledge the presence of a supreme being. Religion is of importance in the affairs of the government in certain ways.

The state also plays certain roles in religion and more specifically, the Christian Coalition Associations. Firstly, the state is recognized for its support to churches and the charitable organization founded by the churches. The government has set funds that are given to such organizations to help them in the provision of their services. The state also protects individuals from discrimination because of their religious beliefs through the different laws enacted against discrimination.[18] The state also recognizes the freedom of religion and the amendment and getting rid of the state religion and giving individuals the discretion to exercise their right to worship how they want is important. Another role of the state in religion is the tax exemption of churches and the charitable organizations that have emanated from the churches.[19] The tax exemption is important as it ensures that the purpose of the church is achieved with no intervention of financial status.

There is a link that exists between religion and state information on political affairs that influence the political decisions of citizens. One of the links is, it is observed that many religious leaders have successfully being elected to government offices through the Christian Coalition Association.[20] Their role as religious leaders and state officials is of great importance as citizens elected them based on shared religious beliefs and values. Christian Coalition Association is an organization that is made up of conservative Christians who provide free voter education services and guidelines to the citizens around the country. Their services have impacted the decisions of the people of the United States as they also provide representation services at their own cost.[21] The state works in hand with religious leaders to promote certain laws that are helpful in the lives of the citizen and promote particular political affiliations to the people of the United States through religious officials.

There are various biblical foundations of the Christian Coalition Associations of its current operations, campaigns and advocacy around the United States. One of the biblical foundations is in the bible the book of Matthew it is observed that the Pharisees who were the religious leaders of the Jews at the synagogues strived to ensure that the people of Nazareth adhered to the set laws and also taught them on the importance of them obeying the laws set by the government at that time. Another biblical foundation, we see the disciples as an organization out of their own will revolted against the wishes of the government that they found oppressive and rather advocated for freedom of worship and ideas and fairness in their affairs of the state. Just like the disciples condemned individual acts that they considered unfair and immoral, so are the Christian Coalition Association condemning abortion and same-sex marriages.[22] In Genesis, we see God burning the city of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their homosexual acts since he did not support those acts. It is for this reason that the Christian coalition does not support same-sex marriage as they are conservatives.

The free exercise clauses and establishment protects the religious beliefs and practices of all the citizens of the United States. The clause stipulates that Congress shall not enact any laws that establish any religion and limiting the free exercise of an individual on freedom of religion.[23] The two clauses ensure that the Congress and no individual limits the freedom of any individual in the United States as the provision further provide that the congress shall not at any instance term any religion false.[24] The Congress, courts, citizens and the president of the United States all share different opinions and perspectives on freedom of religion which has a great influence on their actions. There has been a contention that there should be a limitation clause on new religions that re being invented so to restrict the number of denominations an prevent provision of misleading information. The opinion is not within the scope of Congress to limit the number of religions that exist as that would be a violation of the rights of the people. The nature of political authority is divided into three dimensions from the local authority to federal political authority and state political authority which is presidential authority.

Religion has a significant role in in the governance of state although there are several arguments that there should be a separation of the two entities, and each should work independently without invoking the other in its function.  One of the arguments is that a religious state infringes some rights of individuals; an example of a right is freedom of cultural beliefs in schools that require students only to wear the school uniform and no other garments.[25] The Islamic religion is characterized by ladies wearing a hijab, and failure to wear is viewed as a disrespect of the religion.[26] Another reason for advocating the separation between the state and religion is reducing the influence of religion on decisions made by the government that will be viewed as discrimination and bias. Religion should not be a basis for a decision by a state, but it can serve as one of the grounds that a law can be enacted or a decision made

Various recommendations can be made in ensuring that religion and the state are distinct entities that are interdependent. One of the recommendations is the getting rid of the mandatory clause of prayer in schools and workplaces as this subjects individuals to certain acts that they do not advocate for those acts. Secondly, in as much as the Congress has no mandate to limit freedom of religion or term religion as being false, it can create a limitations clause that limits the number of the proliferation of denominations that are in the United States currently.[27] In light of this, this is to prevent the number of lawsuits and demands brought by the different religions to be recognized and treated with the respect it deserves. By limiting the number of denominations, the citizens of the United States are left to affiliate with existing religious beliefs.

This paper has adequately discussed the formation of the Christian Coalition Association and the techniques that it has incorporated in its organization.[28] The paper has also addressed how the state and religion significantly help each other in their functions and the impact of religion and the state political information to the citizens of the United States. The paper has also discussed the various biblical foundations that formed a basis for the establishment of the Christian coalition in 1988 and what role it played in the carrying out of their activities.

Bibliography

Brown, Ruth Murray. For a Christian America: A history of the religious right. Prometheus Books, 2013.

Clifton, Brett M. “Romancing the GOP: Assessing the strategies used by the Christian Coalition to influence the Republican Party.” Party Politics 10, no. 5 (2004): 475-498.

Fisher, Robert, and Sally Tamarkin. “Right-wing organizers do this too: The case of the Christian Coalition.” Journal of Community Practice 19, no. 4 (2011): 403-421.

Kohut, Andrew, John C. Green, Scott Keeter, and Robert C. Toth. The diminishing divide: Religion’s changing role in American politics. Brookings Institution Press, 2001.

Reed Jr, Ralph E. “The Agency of the Religious Right: The Christian Coalition.” School Administrator 50, no. 9 (1993): 16-18.

Robertson, Pat. “Robertson viewed the Christian Coalition as only one component in a broader strategy to oppose liberal interest groups that he felt threatened Christian religious liberty. Regent University, which he founded in Virginia Beach in 1977, opened a law school in 1986 in order to give even.” Culture Wars in America: 554.

Rock, Stephen R. Faith and foreign policy: the views and influence of US Christians and Christian organizations. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2011.

Vaughan, Joel D. The rise and fall of the Christian coalition: The inside story. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009.

Wald, Kenneth D., and Allison Calhoun-Brown. Religion and politics in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

Wilcox, Clyde. Onward Christian soldiers?: the religious right in American politics. Routledge, 2018.

[1] Brett, Clifton, (2004) 475

[2]  Joel, Vaughan, ( Stock Publishers, 2009), 200

[3] Clyde, Wilcox ( Routledge, 2018) 103

[4] Kenneth, Wald,( Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) 56

[5] Stephen, Rock( Bloomsbury, 2011) 105

[6] Pat, Robertson,( 2005) 554

[7] Murray, Brown( Promethecus,2013) 77

[8] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 406

[9] Ralph, Reed( 1993) 17

[10] Andrew, Kohut; Green Scott, ( Brookings Institution Press, 2001) 106

[11] Clyde, Wilcox ( Routledge, 2018) 97

[12] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 411

[13] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 406

[14] Stephen, Rock( Bloomsbury, 2011) 98

[15] Kenneth, Wald,( Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) 66

[16] Stephen, Rock( Bloomsbury, 2011) 121

[17] Pat, Robertson,( 2005) 571

[18] Clyde, Wilcox ( Routledge, 2018) 111

[19] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 416

[20] Clyde, Wilcox ( Routledge, 2018) 107

[21] Stephen, Rock( Bloomsbury, 2011) 113

[22] Kenneth, Wald,( Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) 66

[23] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 406

[24] Pat, Robertson,( 2005) 563

[25] Murray, Brown( Promethecus,2013) 327

[26] Andrew, Kohut; Green Scott, ( Brookings Institution Press, 2001) 205

[27] Ralph, Reed( 1993) 117

[28] Robert ,Fisher( 2011) 456