It is heartening to see columnist Paul Krugman warn about the power of the Religious Right within the Bush Administration, even if this is old news to us. (See: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/13/504/)

Even more heartening is the interest in and level of knowledge about the Religious Right I am finding in audiences across the country, at conferences and speeches, and on radio programs.

Last week one major event at which I spoke was the Fifty-ninth Annual Conference on World Affairs held at the University of Colorado at Boulder during April 9 – 13, 2007. (See: http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/information.html)

In my program bio, it explains that I “not only can pronounce the phrase ‘apocalyptic pretribulationist premillennial dispensationalist evangelicalism,’ but also can explain what it means. (It takes five minutes, though.) He nonetheless urges critics of the Christian right to show respect for their right to hold religious beliefs. He describes himself as a radical Christian who is ‘unchurched, but not uncouth.’” (See: http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/bios.html?id=609&year=2007)

Here are the panels, links to the bios of the other participants, and my comments:

---

Countdown to Armageddon

1:00-2:20 on Monday April 9, 2007
UMC 235
Panelists:
• Chip Berlet
• Everett Carl Dolman
• Jeff Price
• Sue Swenson
  
  
• Moderator: Linda Jourgensen

The history of the term Armageddon was my opening for this panel, but Jeff Price spoke about the increasing dangers from global warming, and Everett Carl Dolman discussed the possible proliferation of weapons in space. Questions from the audience probed how the apocalyptic ideas of some in the Religious Right could influence outcomes in these areas. Sue Swenson took our somewhat gloomy discussion and spun it into a wonderful and personal exploration of the need to face challenges squarely and humanely.

Israel: Is Every Critic an Anti-semite

9:30-10:50 on Tuesday April 10, 2007
UMC Center Ballroom
Panelists:
• Chip Berlet
• Mark Levine
• David Margolick
• David Solomons
  
  
• Moderator: Paul Shankman

This panel included a variety of views, although we all agreed the blanket statement framed in the title was not true. Panelists and the audience tossed around the dilemmas posed by the Christian Zionist wing of the Religious Right.

Atheists Can Do Whatever the Hell They Want

3:30-4:50 on Tuesday April 10, 2007
Hellems 252
Panelists:
• Chip Berlet
• Anthony Hamilton
• David Jacobs
• Terry McNally
  
  
• Moderator: Clay Evans

This was a lively panel, with David Jacobs and Terry McNally representing the atheist perspective. Anthony Hamilton spoke about how one can believe in God while being skeptical of aspects of organized religion. I joined Jacobs and McNally in warning about the threats posed by the Religious Right, as did many people from the audience. The local newspaper, the Boulder Daily Camera covered this panel with the headline “Atheists take to the pulpit to discuss God, morality” and a subhead: “Panelist Berlet: 'If you have faith, then you don't need to prove it'” (See: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/apr/11/atheists-take-pulpit-discuss-god-morality/

Somehow they managed to identify me as an atheist, despite my printed and online conference bio identifying me as a “radical Christian;” and repeated references during the panel to my religious beliefs. Oh, well. They did print a correction.

Defending Speech We Hate

4:30-5:50 on Wednesday April 11, 2007
UMC West Ballroom
Panelists:
• Nan Aron
• Chip Berlet
• Margaret Engel
  
  
• Moderator: Bonnie Gangelhoff

All of us on the panel ended up talking about the censorship and stifling of free expression purveyed by the Bush Administration and the Religious Right. Hate the sin and silence the sinner was the basic theme. Public libraries are especially a target.

Overblown Rhetoric: Would You Know Fascism If You Saw It

9:30-10:50 on Thursday April 12, 2007
UMC Center Ballroom
Panelists:
• Chip Berlet
• Clara Jeffery
• Rachel Maddow
  
  
• Moderator: Gerard Hauser

All the panelists agreed that it was too easy for progressives to call their right-wing adversaries “Fascists” or “Nazis,” and even if there was a grain of truth, it was a self-defeating and unconstructive habit. Yet we then explored the idea that one avenue through which a mass base for fascism could be built was through the more theocratic wings on the Christian Right.

---

In addition, I was asked to speak to a lunch time gathering of Boulder County employees. Here is the topic and blurb I provided:

Conservative Evangelicals and the Christian Right: How Distinctions Help Build Civil Dialog

While 40% of the U.S. population identifies as "born again" or Christian evangelical, only 15% identify as allied with the Christian Right. Even though many Black evangelicals oppose abortion and gay rights, 95% of their votes go to Democrats running for President. In the 2006 midterm elections, a significant number of White Christian evangelicals identified the war in Iraq and political corruption as their reason for switching their vote from the Republicans to the Democrats. These issues are "moral values" for conservative evangelicals, along with concerns over the economy, poverty, health care, and the environment. Political struggles are part of plotting the course in real democracies; but accurate information can calm turbulent waters.

Anyway, that was my week. But there is a point. I am increasingly finding audiences across the country eager to talk about their fears concerning the influence of the Religious Right on our nation’s foreign and domestic policies. And it is not just lefty enclaves such as Boulder,CO or Madison, WI; the latter city being the place from which I am filing this blog post after presenting a paper on right-wing publications in the U.S.

I do not think that the Christian Right is as splintered or collapsed as some pundits are reporting since the mid-term elections in 2006. The Christian Right is clearly going through a period of reorganization and reassessment; but this has happened before. Yet the level of awareness and concern I am finding in the audiences that pepper me with questions is reassuring, and provides a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Our work here at Talk2Action, and the work of countless similar and parallel efforts, is paying off.

---

Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates
The Public Eye: Website of Political Research Associates- - -Chip's Blog

---