American Jewish Committee Assesses Christian Right on Eve of 2000 Elections

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 26 September 2000

Senator Joseph Lieberman's candidacy for vice president will test the attitudes of Christian conservatives toward Jews, according to a new American Jewish Committee report, The Christian Right at the Millennium (www.ajc.org).

"The initial reaction toward the Lieberman nomination among Christian conservatives was positive, as he was popular among Christian right leaders because of his personal piety, criticism of the entertainment industry, and denunciation of President Clinton's behavior in the Lewinsky scandal," writes Professor John C. Green, author of the AJC report. "Whether such views survive the rough and tumble of the campaign remains to be seen."

Green, professor of political science and director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, "provides in this report an illuminating account of the historical background of the Christian Right movement, its leaders, its mass constituency, and its ongoing involvement in the political arena," says Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's director of domestic policy. "The section devoted to the Christian Right and the Jews is an important feature of Green's discussion."

The Christian Right at the Millennium is an updated version of Green's Understanding the Christian Right (1996), also published by the American Jewish Committee. In this new report, Professor Green observes "the 1999-2000 election cycle may well presage a decline of the movement early in the new century."

Among the major problems facing the movement are the advanced age of most key Christian right leaders and the movement's lack of organizational development. "The Christian right has yet to construct interest groups, and must rely on continually mobilizing religious groups to sustain its activities," writes Professor Green. "Indeed, the strength and diversity of evangelical religious organizations may have inhibited such institution building."

Professor Green points out that such weaknesses in the movement do not diminish the influence of Christian right activists and voters who have become increasingly integrated into Republican Party politics. But, Professor Green observes that while "this trend could make the movement's agenda more prominent it would also undermine Christian right organizations."

Whoever wins the presidency in November, "the Christian right would need to find new ways to sustain itself," writes Professor Green. "New movement leaders and new movement organizations will be needed to allow the movement to prosper for a third decade. At this writing, no such innovations appear on the horizon."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org