When Land was was inaugurated into office, evangelical author Carl Henry set the tone for Land's tenure in which he attacked "radical church-state separation."  This was unsurprising, given that the original board that issued his call to office was stacked with members of the John Birch Society -- and at least one man who praised South African apartheid. Land has embraced historical revisionist and lingtime Texas Republican Party Vice-Chairman David Barton who is an arch enemy of separation of church and state. Suggested reading on Land's web site often lists writers who advocate a theocracy instead of a democracy, such as Christian Reconstructionist Gary DeMar.

He has has parted with his predecessors by advocating a strong accomodationist line in church state matters. His allies in the SBC and in the  Texas Baptist Convention have openly courted favor with Jay Sekulow, head of the American Center for Law and Justice (founded by Pat Roberston) whose professional career is marked by attacks on traditional separation rulings.  The fact that Land gave the 2007 Religious Liberty award to President Bush stunned many experts on the subject who view Bush as one of the worst enemies of separation of church and state. His administration, among other offenses, has offered government money to churches -- anathema to the Baptist tradition.  Land has bashed the Supreme Court's "Lemon test" that has been the gold standard of church state separation for decades, and the Engels vs. Vitale decision which most experts hail as religious liberty victories for the nation.

Land frequently invites Religious Right leaders like Beverly LaHaye and Nancy Schaefer to appear at events, and photos abound showing him in the midst of the nation's active Religious Right leadership. Land has shared platforms with people like Larry Pratt of Gunowners of America -- who Pat Buchanan dropped from his 1996 campain for president following revelations of Pratt's ties to militia groups.

Meanwhile government funding of churches and church schools, a forbidden fruit to earlier generations of Baptists, has been vigorously supported by President Bush via school vouchers, among other methods. But Land seems to find little fault with this. Land once said that sending children to public schools was like sending kids to the Children's Crusades -- the bizarre Middle Ages marches on the Holy Land that ended in death for thousands of children.

Land's profound involvement with the Religious Right does not stop there.  He has teamed up with the Religious Right to attack "activist judges". Land said, "These judges want an immoral, secular society where everyone remains beholden to no higher power, and if they ever accomplished that, it would be the end of our nation as we know it."   Land also believes it is a Biblical mandate to support modern Israel. He states that it is more important for America to support Israel than it is for Israel to support us. This, he claims, will guarantee us the blessing of God.   Land also signed on with a group of Religious Right activists warning against the idea that Global Warming was a legitimate concern. Land has hinted that the environmentalists might be linked to Communists.

One of the hallmarks of Land's career has been his involvement in the Republican Party. One of Land's infamous statements was his demand that there be a wedding wing signifying the Religious Right's consummation of its marriage with  with GOP politicians.  

Land has often used his access to Baptist churches through his office, newsletter and influence, to help Republican candidates. In 2004, Land traveled around in a vote values bus which appeared to be little more than a President Bush campaign vehicle.  One of the recent presidents of the SBC had Ralph Reed, Bush's regional campaign manager, into his church to host a conference on Christian activism. Land equated the election of Bush as God's will and stated that the election of John Kerry would have shown the nation God was judging us. Given all this, it should come as no surprise that The Nation magazine once reported Land has more Republican items in his office than Christian symbols.

Land has publicly embraced movements like the Nehemiah Project, which was a church electioneering project at Second Baptist in Houston that  got the church in trouble with the IRS.  His office once honored a Texas activist for his efforts to sell churches videos of Democrats who were supposed to be involved in all sorts of evil plots. The movies were even recommended to me as substitutes for evening church services. Richard shocked many observers when he stated that he had more in common with Pope John Paul II than he did with well-known Baptist Jimmy Carter. For a Baptist to claim more identity with a Pope is a far cry from Baptism's protestant foundations which emphasize how they differ from Catholics.  Unsurprisingly,  Land reportedly speaks weekly with White House political strategiest Karl Rove.

One of the strange items in Land's agenda is his support for the War in Iraq. Land often attacked Bill Clinton for evading the draft during Viet Nam but has been silent about George W. Bush's service during the time. He has been the chief cheer leader for the current war claiming we must stay the course. His Fundamentalist Baptist friends in Texas have even suggested folks against the war are pagans. Land advocated the impeachment of president Bill Clinton as well as being a frequent critic of his policies from China to health care. He even went so far as to a state that we needed to make Clinton the last casualty of the Viet Nam War.  In 2007 Land compared Hillary Clinton's potential presidency as a Darth Vader-like specter.

Years ago, Richard Land cast his lot with the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC, with the religious right political movement, and in particular, the presidency and policy of George W. Bush. He has played a central role in making the SBC an agency of fundamentalism and a prop for the Bush agenda.   We can only wonder how the changing political climate will affect his fortunes, and those of the SBC.