Allen D. Hertzke

The Christian Right and Republican Realignment in Oklahoma

On November 8, 1994, Oklahoma Democrats were stunned by an unprecedented GOP tide in the midterm elections. Just two years before, the Democrats still looked like the majority party: they held the governors office, a 5-3 majority in the congressional delegation, and huge majorities in the state legislature. On Wednesday morning they woke up to a new reality. Republicans swept the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, picked up seats in the state legislature, and seized a remarkable 7-1 majority in the congressional delegation. Not since 1920 had the Republicans sent a majority to Washington, and never by such a margin. Of equal significance is the nature of that congressional delegation. All five of the victorious Republican House members and both of the senators have ties to the Christian Right and received strong backing from conservative Evangelical voters. The lone surviving Democrat is conservative Representative Bill Brewster. From the standpoint of the Christian Right, therefore, the elections were a smashing success; Oklahomas delegation to Washington will be highly sympathetic to their policy goals. What produced this outcome was a fortuitous blend of discontent, resources, and opportunity. Successful social movements need resources to channel discontent and favorable opportunities to exploit. All of these came together in Oklahoma. Discontent with the drift of secular society, accentuated by deep displeasure with President Clinton (who embodied the “counterculture” in the White House), galvanized conservative Evangelicals. In turn, this discontent was channeled by sophisticated Christian Right leaders and fueled by expanding resources (money, media outlets, and a volunteer corps).

INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM POLICY: TAKING STOCK

Abstract Diverse religious groups united to back the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, integrating religious freedom into a new U.S. foreign policy architecture. Particular factors contributed to a renewed commitment, including the growth of Christianity in the developing world, globalization, and rich social networks of American religious life. A House bill advocated sanctioning religious persecutors, while a Senate bill stressed a more calibrated approach using diplomacy. The Senate bill was adopted and reflected elements of both views. While progress has occurred abroad, legislation alone cannot produce transformational change. Ongoing public mobilization will raise the visibility of religious freedom in foreign policy.

ROMAN CATHOLICISM AND THE FAITH-BASED MOVEMENT FOR GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract The Dignitatis Humanae is crucial to understanding how Americas faith community succeeded in pushing through a new human rights architecture for foreign policy: the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The Roman Catholic Church occupies a strategic space in the U.S. political landscape that made it a vital ally in the struggle for religious liberty. Moreover, the DH was a platform on which Catholic activists were able to transcend inter-denominational squabbling and take a lead role in lobbying for this legislation. Prominent Catholics have also played an important role in the implementation of the IRFA.

Christianity and the Roots of Human Dignity in Late Antiquity

Deeply rooted in our religious heritage is the conviction that every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth. Our Judeo-Christian tradition refers to this inherent dignity of man in the Biblical term “the image of God.” Martin Luther King Jr. RIGHTS AND ENLIGHTENMENT Imagine, if you would, an Enlightenment that takes place in a Europe where there had never been a Constantine: no fiery sign in the sky, no Battle at the Milvian Bridge, no Nicaea. Imagine a thoroughgoing intellectual revolution, in which men “dared to know,” casting off half-believed myths of Zeus, demystifying all sacral kingships, seeking to understand the place of humanity in a mechanistic nature without superstition. Would such an Enlightenment have issued in the thunderous proclamations of the American and French Revolutions? The liberal revolutions of the late eighteenth century were the political offspring of the Enlightenment. The pronouncements of the inalienable rights of man were the avant-garde of modern ideology, and they now have triumphed as fundamental international norms. But would an Enlightenment without Constantine also have given birth to Enlightenment liberalism? Could we have had a Kant without a Constantine? If you have indulged this lavish thought experiment so far, consider the answer of the Enlightenments most acute critic, Friedrich Nietzsche: no. Proclamations of rights and human dignity were not a necessary political derivative of Enlightenment rationalism; rather, they were a relic, a secular myth born of weakness. “Such phantoms as the dignity of man, the dignity of labour, are the needy products of slavedom hiding from itself…. Now the slave must vainly scrape through from one day to another with transparent lies recognizable to every one of deeper insight, such as the alleged ‘equal rights of all’ or the so-called ‘fundamental rights of man,’ of man as such, or the ‘dignity of labour.’” For Nietzsche, humanity bore no inherent dignity: “‘Man in himself,’ the absolute man possesses neither dignity, nor rights, nor duties.” Only through culture, through art, could humans create beauty and meaning and thus come to possess dignity. Certainly this view set the illiberal Nietzsche apart from his age.

URGENT QUESTIONS AND STRATEGIC MODELS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ADVOCACY: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FALL 2012 ISSUE

Religious freedom matters but is imperiled. This simple proposition captures a central crucible of our age. Advancing religious freedom must be a priority of democratic-loving people everywhere. But what are the different models of advocacy? How do distinct approaches flow from different disciplines, organizational visions, or religious traditions? What practical challenges do advocates face and what strategies do they employ? What can aspiring advocates of religious freedom learn from seasoned champions? These are among the crucial questions addressed in the Fall 2012 issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairs, a theme issue on “Strategies of Advocacy for International Religious Freedom.”

AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHES AND U.S. POLICY IN SUDAN

Abstract The black church has been particularly influential in shaping American efforts toend the conflicts in the southern and Darfur regions of Sudan. Though African American mobilization regarding these issues was initially part of and aided by a broader faith-based movement, it gained singular effectiveness by employing familiar strategies honed in the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements, including protests and boycotting.