Fitzgerald on evangelicals
Noted journalist Frances Fitgerald in the New York Review of Books on divides among evangelicals. Some of these issues have been well covered in the press, notably recent efforts by leading evangelicals such as Rick Warren and others on issues ranging from aid to Africa and global warning, and the insistence by James Dobson and others that gay marriage and abortion trump other concerns. (Fitzgerald has had a long distinguished career as an essayist, including a very early piece on Jerry Falwell.)
What Fitzgerald hints at, and what I think, is that we seem to be at a particularly combustible moment in U.S. political history. Since the late 1960s the Republican party at the national level has (by and large) been more focused on a coherent message, fielded more attractive candidates and raised more money. Indisputably, I think, they drove the national debate on economic and “social” issues. (At least this is what I tell my classes). Is this era over?
The PBS program about Aime Semple McPherson (“American Experience”) a couple of weeks ago noted Sister’s foray into politics. The documentary linked her rise and fall to local California pols, who first saw her as a boon to the region (and their careers), and then as a liability. According to the documentary, they helped orchestrate the hoax charges against her, which led to her decline.
So my first thought is that the era of evangelism in politics will be over only when politicians no longer feel compelled to make speeches at Liberty College and other bastions of Christian conservatism.
That hasn’t happened yet so far as I can see.
In the early 1980s Fitzgerald wrote “Cities on a Hill” , subtitled: A Journey Through Contemporary American Cultures.
In thebook she visited at length and in depth 4 diverse cultures that had come into their own at that time: The Castro, Liberty Baptist -1981, Sun City – 1983, & Rajneeshpuram. There is also a summary chapter called Starting Over.
The insights are dated now, but they prove how good of a writer she has been for quite some time.
If you can get the book, do read and remember some bits of our recent past. Interestingly enough, 3 of the 4 places have survived and matured by now.
PS: she also wrote an excellent piece on “Jim & Tammy” in the April 23, 1990, issue of The New Yorker.