This disturbs some American evangelicals, and tomorrow a group of them is sponsoring a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to announce the release of a manifesto criticizing members of their own movement for their approach to politics.

The Associated Press, which saw a draft of the document, said the manifesto "condemns Christians on the right and left for using faith to express political views without regard to the truth of the Bible."

"That way," the draft observes, "faith loses its independence, Christians become `useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology." It goes on to say, "All too often we have attacked the evils and injustices of others, while we have condoned our own sins.... [W]e must reform our own behavior."

The document seems to be saying that the image of evangelicalism has become too harsh and too political. It's hard to disagree with that. Remember, the root word of "evangelical" is a Greek term that simply means "good news." Early Christians believed they were required to share this "good news" - their faith - with others. They were to spread the faith and seek converts; this charge says nothing about preaching hardball politics as well.

But somewhere along the way, that process did get tied up with politics - usually of the right-wing variety. In the early 1980s, loud and abrasive TV preachers and other activists began asserting that a good and faithful evangelical must also subscribe to certain (far-right) political views. What had been a relatively non-controversial theological term got tarred with the brush of partisan politics.

Now some evangelicals want to take the term back. Fine. I wish them well. But I have to wonder if it's not a little too late. I note that prominent Religious Right figure James Dobson has not signed on. Neither has Richard Land or other officials of the Southern Baptist Convention (the nation's largest Protestant denomination). TV preacher Pat Robertson is not among the signatories. Nor is Gary Bauer or Jonathan Falwell.

That's no surprise there. In fact, I expect the response from these Religious Right heavy hitters to be hostility. They are likely to perceive the manifesto as a call for disengagement from partisanship and attack it. Unfortunately, the most prominent evangelicals in the country are going to go right on promoting right-wing politics even after the release of the manifesto tomorrow.

Also, no one should think that these evangelicals are calling for disengagement from the issues that have defined their political involvement in the past. The AP reported that the manifesto's backers endorse political involvement over the issue of same-sex marriage. (My guess is that they're not real keen on legal abortion, either.) But they want to see a broader agenda, one that also includes issues like protecting the environment. It still sounds like an agenda laden with sectarian concerns.

I haven't seen the document, but if it gives some moderate evangelicals a little breathing space, I'm for that. What I'm not for is the media reading this document and assuming that it's yet another sign that the Religious Right is dead. It's not. Dobson, Robertson, Land and their allies have broadcast empires, vast wealth, deep political connections and denominational structures to support their political agenda. Many of the folks who are signing the manifesto do not. You can guess whose voice is going to be heard loudest in the American public square.

Henry G. Brinton, pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Va., penned an opinion column yesterday for USA Today about the state of the Religious Right. I don't agree with all Brinton has to say - he argues that the Religious Right contributes to "a creative tension" in religion that helps religious life remain vital, whereas I believe the Religious Right's impact on American life has been almost wholly negative.

But his analysis of the state of the Religious Right is spot on: Reports of the death of the Religious Right, Brinton says, "are at the very least premature, and in all likelihood dead wrong. High-profile leaders will come and go, but the strength and commitment of conservative Christians on the front lines of parish life are as strong as ever."

The new evangelical statement is likely to lead to another round of media stories about the decline of the Religious Right. If so, all that proves is that many reporters, most of whom have never had a good understanding of this movement to begin with, have missed the real story once again.

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