A biographical study written by Shintia R. Argazali, as part of a bibliographic research project provides important details that set the historic context:
LaHaye starts writing his series on the secular humanist conspiracy, at a time when this is a hot issue on the Christian Right. In 1976 the Heritage Foundation published Secular Humanism and the Schools: The Issue Whose Time Has Come, a tract by Onalee McGraw, in which she argues that humanistic education in the public schools does not focus on “the traditional and generally accepted virtues” based on “Judeo–Christian principles taught by most families at home,” but on secular humanist theories of “moral relativism and situation ethics” that are “based on predominantly materialistic values found only in man’s nature itself” and “without regard for the Judeo–Christian moral order, which is based on the existence and fatherhood of a personal God.”(McGraw 1976) This may seem odd coming from the Heritage Foundation, but recall that it was Christian Right strategist Paul Weyrich who had been sent to DC as agent of Joseph Coors to found the Heritage Foundation in 1973. The next year Weyrich set up a lobbying group, the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress. As Heritage became more Inside-the-Beltway policy wonkish and secular, Weyrich left Heritage to turn the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congressinto the Free Congress Foundation, to continue with the battle to extend Christian evangelical influence through what Weyrich called “Cultural Conservatism.” Weyrich and LaHaye helped create the New Right and the Moral Majority in 1979. Before his series on the Secular Humanist conspiracy, LaHaye attacked the growing gay rights movement. As the Southern Poverty Law Center explained in their timeline of the anti-gay movement, in 1978:
John Cloud in Time magazine noted that: On another subject—gays and lesbians—LaHaye's views are not just eccentric but downright odious. In his 1978 book The Unhappy Gays—which even today LaHaye calls "a model of compassion"—he wrote that homosexuality is "vile" and that gays share 16 pernicious traits, which include "incredible promiscuity," "deceit," "selfishness," "vulnerability to sadism-masochism" and "poor health and an early death." He wondered who was more "cruel and inhuman"—those who accept gays even though they are so unhappy or "those who practiced Old Testament capital punishment" on gays. (Cloud, 2002, http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020701/books3.html). In his 1982 book The Battle for the Family, LaHaye continues to list acceptance of sinful homosexuality as part of the secular humanist conspiracy, but his top three enemies of the family are:
LaHaye also has chapters on the other enemies of the family: television; a “controlled” media; feminism, materialism, urbanization, easy divorce, women in the work force, pornography, free access to drugs, rock music, and homosexuality. When asked by a parent if they shouldn’t send their children to public school as a way to “be witnesses for Christ?” LaHaye writes that he responded: “You mean cannon fodder for Humanism!” (p. 88). According to LaHaye, “Modern public education is the most dangerous single force in a child’s life: religiously, sexually, economically, patriotically, and physically.” (p.. 89) LaHaye then reproduces a list of common school problems in 1940 and 1980. In 1940, the problems are running in the halls, chewing gum in class, “talking out in class.” The 1980 list includes violence, stealing, forcible rape, arson, etc. But this list is something of a hoax, because it is derived from a number of sources that are not actually based on survey data. Barry O'Neill, writing in the New York Times Magazine, reports:
LaHaye states that “Feminism is the ultimate in selfishness,” because:
According to LaHaye, the feminist movement is really about advancing “the cause of homosexuality, lesbianism, and radicalism.” (p. 140). In this and other sections of the book, LaHaye repeatedly returns to the theme of a vast secular humanist conspiracy that tracks back to John Dewey and the plot to take over the public schools system and use it to turn children against God and family. More on this in the next installment. Sources: Shintia R. Argazali, “Tim LaHaye, Introduction to the American Right, course developed by James Danky, SLIS, University of Wisconsin, Madison, http://slisweb.lis.wisc.edu/~jcherney/argazali.html Brian Balogh, University of Virginia, “Viewing America: The United States from 1945 to the Present,” course materials, online, http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS316/mbase/docs/lahaye.html. Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons, Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, New York: Guilford, 2000. John Cloud, 2002, “Meet the Prophet” Time Magazine, July 1, http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020701/books3.html. Sara Diamond, 1989, Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right, Boston: South End Press. Sara Diamond, 1998, Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States, New York: Guilford Press. Tim LaHaye, 1975 Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Tim LaHaye, 1978, The Unhappy Gays: What Everyone Should Know About Homosexuality, Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. Tim LaHaye, 1982, The Battle for the Family, Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1982). Onalee McGraw, 1976, Secular Humanism and the Schools: The Issue Whose Time has Come, Pamphlet, Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation. Barry O'Neill, 1994, “The History of a Hoax,” New York Times Magazine Section, March 6, pp. 46-49 Amy Smyth, “Beverly LaHaye,” Introduction to the American Right, course developed by James Danky, SLIS, University of Wisconsin, Madison, http://slisweb.lis.wisc.edu/~jcherney/smyth.html SPLC, 2005, “The Thirty Years War: A timeline of the anti-gay movement,” Intelligence Report, Spring, Issue 117, http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=523 On LaHaye: by Chip Berlet "Left Behind Video Reflects Bigoted Apocalyptic Violence of Original Fiction Series," (6/12/2006) "LaHaye and Jenkins: Why is the Criticism Left Behind? "
The World According to Tim LaHaye: A Series
Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates The Public Eye: Website of Political Research Associates Chip's Blog
The World According to Tim LaHaye: Chapter Seven - Humanists Attack the Family | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
The World According to Tim LaHaye: Chapter Seven - Humanists Attack the Family | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
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