"Making Sense of a Changing World: Understanding and Action in the Christian Right's Approach to Global Affairs" "Making Sense of a Changing World: Understanding and Action in the Christian Right's Approach to Global Affairs"

Enduring Interests of the Christian right  1. Nationalist Unilateralism  2. Promoting/Protecting Global Evangelism  3. Moral Conservatism  4. Prophecy/Israel

Framing  an interpretive schemata that simplifies and condenses the "world out there" by selectively punctuating and encoding objects, situations, events, experiences, and sequences of actions within one's present or past environment (Snow and Benford 1992, 137).

Anti-Communism  Basic Conflict: American freedom vs. communist tyranny  We: U.S./the free world  They: Communist nations and their surrogates around the world  Alliances: Republican right, third world anticommunist movements and governments (Central America, Southern Africa, Afghanistan, Taiwan)

Resisting the New World Order  A growing shadow looms over American nationalism–a creeping movement toward global citizenship. Instead of a world made of independent nations, globalism requires an international system to govern and unite “nation-states.”  Concerned Women for America, Family Voice (July 98)

Resisting the New World Order  Basic Conflict—American nationalists vs. sinister globalists  We: Patriotic Americans  They: United Nations, WTO, NAFTA, Internationalists  Alliances: Anti-immigrant groups, left anti Globalists, the “Frankenstein alliance”

Human Rights/Religious Persecution  Basic Conflict: Oppressive States Versus their citizens  We: Victims of persecution/sexual trafficking and those in solidarity with them  They: Oppressive Governments especially: China, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran  Alliances: Human Rights groups, Jewish groups, Catholic Church, Tibetan movement, African Americans (Sudan), Feminists (Sexual Trafficking)

Global Moral Conservatism or Jihads versus McWorld  We assemble in this World Congress, from many national, ethnic, cultural, social and religious communities, to affirm that the natural human family is established by the Creator and essential to good society. We address ourselves to all people of good will who, with the majority of the world's people, value the natural family. Ideologies of statism, individualism and sexual revolution, today challenge the family's very legitimacy as an institution…. To defend the family and to guide public policy and cultural norms, this Declaration asserts principles that respect and uphold the vital roles that the family plays in society.  Statement of Purpose: World Congress of Families

Global Social Conservatism or Jihads Vs. McWorld  Basic Conflict: Defending the traditional family against social engineering by moral relativists.  We: Defenders of the Traditional Family  They: Feminists, Gays, Western Secular Elites, the UN  Alliances: Islamic groups, the Vatican, Conservative Catholics, the Global South

Clash of Religions  This enemy is not a physical enemy. The enemy is none of the people [Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Taliban leaders] I have shown you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. It’s called the principality of darkness….Satan wants to destroy this nation. He wants to destroy us as a nation and he wants to destroy us as a Christian Army.  Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin  Islam is “a wicked and evil religion.” Franklin Graham  Muslims are “worse than Nazis.” Pat Robertson  Muhammed was “a terrorist” (J. Falwell), “a demon obsessed pedophile” (Jerry Vines, past SBC President).

A Clash of Religions  Basic Conflict: Christian Truth versus Inherently Violent Islam  We: Christians  They: Islam/Satan/Terrorists  Alliances: Advocates of forceful military action against perceived terrorists and terrorist supporters in Islamic nations  Christians (especially Evangelicals/Pentecostalists)