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 The Social Gospel Era (c. 1890s–1945)

David W. Miller

in God at Work: The History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement

This chapter focuses on the first wave of the faith at work movement (FAW). Three broad streams of FAW activity developed whose vestiges are still seen today: (a) the Social Gospel, (b) ... More

This chapter focuses on the first wave of the faith at work movement (FAW). Three broad streams of FAW activity developed whose vestiges are still seen today: (a) the Social Gospel, (b) special–purpose groups, and (c) the popularization of Jesus. The Social Gospel sought theological legitimacy in and gave hermeneutical primacy to the doctrine of the kingdom of God. The Social Gospel comprised many shapes and forms, often with overlapping interests. However, it can be arranged into three main substreams: conservative social Christianity, radical social Christianity, and progressive social Christianity. Special-purpose groups addressed “issues both specific to the churches and of more general concern to the broader society.”. These religiously motivated groups are part of the American tradition of voluntary associations. The popularization of Jesus involves the emergence of a style of writing and speaking that sought to contemporize and popularize a practical Jesus for modern times.Less

What’s Love Got to Do with It?: Stereotypical Women in Dispositionist Torts

Fernanda Nicola

in Ideology, Psychology, and Law

This chapter explores how ideology influences legal change. In particular, it discusses how feminist ideologies, often allied with social conservative ones, have changed how lawyers and judges ... More

This chapter explores how ideology influences legal change. In particular, it discusses how feminist ideologies, often allied with social conservative ones, have changed how lawyers and judges approach interspousal torts. Those changes, though limited in scale, are apparent in doctrine and damage assessments. More generally, they are shaping how our society understands the relationships between men and women. While legal reformers are allowing women's stories of abuse finally to be heard, they tend to hear only stereotypical stories. Those stories are fueling a dispositionist perspective that reinforces stereotyped gender narratives in which women are either helpless victims of abuse or heartless perpetrators of emotional abuse. This dispositionist approach to tort law looks to individual choices and stereotyped narratives to attribute responsibility and blame in a rational and straightforward way, and overlooks the situational influences and constraints of each character in a tort lawsuit.Less

Conservative Tensions and the Republican Future

Joel D. Aberbach and Gillian Peele

in Crisis of Conservatism?: The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, and American Politics After Bush

The contributors to this volume have identified a range of tensions and fissures in the conservative movement and fissures in the conservative movement and a significant level of doubt and ... More

The contributors to this volume have identified a range of tensions and fissures in the conservative movement and fissures in the conservative movement and a significant level of doubt and uncertainty about the future direction of the Republican Party. This chapter briefly synthesizes some of these tensions and uncertainties in an attempt to clarify the dilemmas facing conservative adherents and in anticipation of the continuing challenges that conservatives and Republicans are likely to face. The chapter argues that while the American conservative movement is marked by differences between adherents of the various strands of conservatism, it is strengthened by a vibrant intellectual life and by the fact that a large proportion of the public think of themselves as conservatives or moderates.Less

The Conservatives and social policy in the devolved administrations

Richard Parry

in The Conservative Party and social policy

This chapter investigates the influence of devolution on the Conservatives and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Under Nick Bourne, the Welsh Conservatives have ... More

This chapter investigates the influence of devolution on the Conservatives and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Under Nick Bourne, the Welsh Conservatives have been more prepared than their Scottish colleagues to transform their previous opposition to devolution into support for greater powers on the grounds of clarity and accountability. In both Scotland and Wales, with political weakness came the loss of a power base in local government. The basic dilemma of Scottish and Welsh Conservatives recurs in social policy. Conservatives and the politics of the devolved budgetary process are described. Whether Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland offer a distinctive approach to Conservative social policy is much more problematic. There is no evidence of any distinctive manifesto positioning by the parties in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Conservatives in these three nations have been in a historic fight for survival.Less

The Unitarian Universe

Cynthia Grant Tucker

in No Silent Witness: The Eliot Parsonage Women and Their Unitarian World

This chapter describes a culture of contradictions where religiously liberal people tend to be socially conservative, where the pulpits' descriptions of truth conflict with the daily reality known in ... More

This chapter describes a culture of contradictions where religiously liberal people tend to be socially conservative, where the pulpits' descriptions of truth conflict with the daily reality known in the pews, and where parsonage females bear the brunt of these incongruities. Unitarian women who treasure their freedom from punishing Calvinist creeds and who revel in stretching their minds as they study the Bible in light of their reason and conscience complain of being betrayed by the pulpits' blind‐sided optimism and coldly cerebral sermons. Increasingly, too, they protest that the cult of domestic religion and separate spheres, as canonized by Horace Bushnell, violates the Unitarian values of equity and inclusion. The double standard of authorship and separatist ideology distort and diminish the women's posthumous reputations.Less

Top Conservatives and Grassroots Leaders: The Women behind the Tea Party

Melissa Deckman

in Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right

This chapter introduces the women who make up the leadership of national Tea Party groups as well as the role other conservative women are playing in the Tea Party. This chapter also provides a look ... More

This chapter introduces the women who make up the leadership of national Tea Party groups as well as the role other conservative women are playing in the Tea Party. This chapter also provides a look at Tea Party women nationally through PRRI data, demonstrating how Tea Party women differ from Republican women who do not identify with the Tea Party and other American women. It also examines the roots of women’s support for the Tea Party compared with men.Less

Divided Constituencies and Their Lawyers

in Lawyers of the Right: Professionalizing the Conservative Coalition

This chapter shows that rifts within the American conservative coalition are present among the lawyers who serve the alliance. Lawyers for the different constituencies are divided by social ... More

This chapter shows that rifts within the American conservative coalition are present among the lawyers who serve the alliance. Lawyers for the different constituencies are divided by social background, geography, and values. Lawyers for social conservative causes come primarily from religious and nonelite backgrounds, while business lawyers come from more secular and privileged environments. Moreover, the organizations served by these lawyers receive support from different sets of philanthropists, who are themselves socially divided. Lawyers for mediator organizations are especially elite and have strong ties to the legal establishment. The organizations that these lawyers serve command far and away the largest amount of public foundation money, suggesting that conservative philanthropists expect those groups to promote cooperation and suppress conflict.Less

The Future of the Tea Party: Scoring an Invitation to the Republican Party

Martin Cohen

in Steep: The Precipitous Rise of the Tea Party

This chapter analyzes the Tea Party's likely effect on the Republican Party. It explores the criteria needed for movement newcomers to have an effect on the established parties, and then analyzes the ... More

This chapter analyzes the Tea Party's likely effect on the Republican Party. It explores the criteria needed for movement newcomers to have an effect on the established parties, and then analyzes the success of the religious right in inserting itself into the Republican Party. It argues that the recent rise of the Tea Party can be understood best by comparing it to the last great influx of political outsiders seeking to reconfigure the Republican Party—the Christian right. The best analogue to current Tea Party efforts to remake the Republican Party in its image is the influx of social conservatives, with the first wave of organizing beginning in the late 1970s and the second wave commencing in the early 1990s. A comparison of the Christian right with the Tea Party shows that the Tea Party movement, as it is constructed now, is ill-suited to successfully influence the Republican Party. The Tea Party must make significant changes as a movement to gain a permanent, meaningful foothold within the Republican Party.Less

Wrestling with God and Mammon

Lynn Roseberry and Johan Roos

in Bridging the Gender Gap: Seven Principles for Achieving Gender Balance

Some women are passionately opposed to gender balance. This chapter explains the main reasons for female opposition to gender balance. Religious conservatives rely on strict interpretations of Holy ... More

Some women are passionately opposed to gender balance. This chapter explains the main reasons for female opposition to gender balance. Religious conservatives rely on strict interpretations of Holy Scriptures—whether it’s the Bible, the Koran or the Torah—to support their beliefs that women belong in the home raising children. Right-wing political conservatives oppose gender balance because right-wing politics tends to favour the unregulated pursuit of self-interest and focus on individual choices, rather than socially constructed limitations. We argue that logical arguments are unlikely to change the minds of gender balance opponents in the social and laissez faire conservative categories. The only thing that is likely to change their minds is change itself. Far from being a reason to go easy on initiatives for gender balance, this kind of opposition is a compelling reason to push them forward.Less

The Politics of Conservative Christianity in Black and White

in The Truth about Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe

This chapter argues that Conservative Christianity can promote a political agenda. American political history teaches us, though, that the direction it leads men and women cannot be determined in ... More

This chapter argues that Conservative Christianity can promote a political agenda. American political history teaches us, though, that the direction it leads men and women cannot be determined in advance. Evangelical militancy is not new, and while it is distasteful when it marches in the opposite direction of our own cause, it can be also be embraced to support the “onward, Christian soldiers” march of one's own cause. While some disregard history to demonize Conservative Christianity's involvement in politics that promote a conservative social agenda, they are reminded that religious zeal in the pursuit of political objectives has not been the monopoly of one particular political camp. In the present era, the same religious principles that lead whites to the right lead blacks to the left.Less

Introduction

Jon A. Shields and Joshua M. Dunn Sr.

in Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University

The introduction summarizes the book’s main findings. It argues that liberals and conservatives need to rethink the place of conservatives in academia. Contrary to liberal fears, for example, ... More

The introduction summarizes the book’s main findings. It argues that liberals and conservatives need to rethink the place of conservatives in academia. Contrary to liberal fears, for example, conservative professors are neither close-minded nor eager to declare war on the university. Many, in fact, feel more at home in the university than in the Republican Party. Most conservative professors also believe the university is a far more tolerant place than its right-wing critics imagine. Thus liberals should be more principled advocates of diversity by advocating for ideational pluralism in higher education, while movement conservatives should de-escalate its polemical war against the university. The introduction concludes with a brief description of the study’s method.Less

Conclusion: Tea Party Women and the Future of American Politics

Melissa Deckman

in Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right

This chapter reviews the major findings of the book, demonstrating how Tea Party women differ from previous generations of right-wing women. It recounts how Tea party Women are appropriating feminism ... More

This chapter reviews the major findings of the book, demonstrating how Tea Party women differ from previous generations of right-wing women. It recounts how Tea party Women are appropriating feminism by arguing that conservative issues, particularly fiscal discipline and gun rights, are feminist issues. It also assesses the opportunities and challenges Tea Party women face in shaping the Republican Party. Lastly, it argues that Tea Party women face steep odds in changing the views of most American women, who remain more supportive of a social safety net and pro-active government providing more assistance to American families, not less.Less

Introduction

in Lawyers of the Right: Professionalizing the Conservative Coalition

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to provide a window into the world of lawyers for conservative causes and probes the little discussed cultural conflict among them. It ... More

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to provide a window into the world of lawyers for conservative causes and probes the little discussed cultural conflict among them. It shows how lawyers for the various constituencies of the conservative alliance established highly specialized legal advocacy organizations to challenge the Left's vision of lawyers' proper roles and to reshape public policy. It analyzes their characteristics, values, professional identities, and strategies and the extent to which they, and the organizations they serve, operate as a coordinated whole. The lawyers examined here serve several strands of the conservative alliance that has coalesced behind the Republican Party during the past few decades. Most prominent among those elements are social conservatives, libertarians, and business interests. The book shows that there are striking differences among the lawyers who serve the primary constituencies of the conservative coalition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less

The Conservative Minority

Jon A. Shields and Joshua M. Dunn Sr.

in Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University

This chapter provides a general group portrait of the professors we interviewed. It both describes their politics and explains why so many of the professors we interviewed became conservatives in the ... More

This chapter provides a general group portrait of the professors we interviewed. It both describes their politics and explains why so many of the professors we interviewed became conservatives in the academy itself. Many turned right after being exposed to conservative ideas in college courses, particularly economics, or through conservative friends. Because the university is often the birthplace of their identities, right-wing professors are not a movement of outsiders looking to wage war on the university, or ever likely to become one.Less

Black Power through Conservative Principles

Corey D. Fields

in Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans

This chapter examines an opposing strategy used by race-conscious African American Republicans. For this group, race is central to their personal and political motivations; black identity provides ... More

This chapter examines an opposing strategy used by race-conscious African American Republicans. For this group, race is central to their personal and political motivations; black identity provides the motivation for joining the Republican Party. They also use black identity to inform how they discuss the merits of conservative social policy. Indeed, they construct black Americans in a way that highlights the impact of racial discrimination and disparate treatment on their life chances, creating a respectable picture in need of economic policy changes and framing conservative values as the ones best suited to create those solutions. Thus, in contrast to their race-blind counterparts, this group supports Republican policies because of their perceived benefits to blacks.Less

Like Crabs in a Barrel

Corey D. Fields

in Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans

This chapter shows how differences in their approaches to thinking about race and their framing of conservative social policy prevent African American Republicans from forming stable, long-term ... More

This chapter shows how differences in their approaches to thinking about race and their framing of conservative social policy prevent African American Republicans from forming stable, long-term organizations. Multiple cases of organizational failure demonstrate how internal conflict inhibits basic organizational tasks like defining audiences, developing organizational missions, and determining tactics. Indeed, it is difficult for African American Republicans to organize because of intense interpersonal conflicts and political disagreements, both of which are actually manifestations of competing beliefs about the role of black racial identity in the political arena. These fights simultaneously expose the personal and political fault lines among African American Republicans.Less

Whither the Republican Party

Corey D. Fields

in Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans

This chapter addresses how the tensions between the different factions of African American Republicans structure relations with white Republicans. White Republicans provide the platform upon which ... More

This chapter addresses how the tensions between the different factions of African American Republicans structure relations with white Republicans. White Republicans provide the platform upon which black Republicans gain election, notoriety, and resources. The relationship is symmetrically beneficial since black Republicans provide tangible proof of racial diversity within the GOP. To maintain support among white Republicans, African Americans must talk about black identity in a way that is consistent with what white Republicans want to hear. When African-Americans call on white Republicans to speak to black interests specifically and treat conservative social policy as a basis for black advancement, relations with white Republicans are contentious and adversarial. As a consequence, a very specific kind of African American Republican rises to prominence within the GOP.Less