In part 2 of his book, Bad Faith, Randall Balmer outlines how the Republican party became the champion political entity for the “pro-life” movement.
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Prior to the late 1970’s, no political party was any more invested in the fight against abortion as any other party. In fact, conservative Christians weren’t even as against abortion as they are today.[1]
Christian leaders who wanted government to stay out of telling them how they can run their private schools rallied their congregates around the issue of abortion. They then presented abortion to the Republican party as an issue that, if they took a stand against, would greatly increase their voter base. As a result, Ronald Reagan was elected president because of the large switch in evangelical votes.
The base who had previously elected Jimmy Carter—one of their own—now opted for a man who had a track record of being supportive of abortion, but promised to stand against it in hopes of garnering their vote.
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Evangelicals gave Reagan their vote.
And not much changed in the realm of abortion at a policy level.
Nevertheless, Republicans have remained the so-called “pro-life” party because being so galvanizes around them one of the largest voter bases in the country.
Interestingly, however, since Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973, abortions have decreased per year at a higher rate under Democratic presidents then Republican presidents. Many dynamics go into decreasing the abortion rate, and very little of it actually has to do with who is president. But I think it’s insightful to observe what has happened with abortion, the Republican party, and white, conservative Christians.
Something similar has happened with racial injustice, the Democrat party, and people of ethnic minority in America.
In the 19th century, Southern Democrats actually defended slavery in the United States and supported its imperialistic expansion into the West against northern Free Soil opposition. Democrats are now generally considered the party not just against slavery and imperialism, but against racial injustice as a whole.
Famous Democratic president, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. However, this had less to do with actually bringing long-term solutions to racial injustice and more about galvanizing voters around the Democratic party.
Is it wrong to support Republicans because they are against abortion? No.
But I think it’s crucial to understand their political incentives for “standing against” abortion and realize the work of actually bringing about long-term change must be done at a grassroots level.
Is it wrong to support Democrats because they are against racial injustice? No.
But in the same way, it’s crucial to understand their political incentives for “standing against” racial injustice and realize the work of actually bringing about long-term change must be done at a grassroots level.
Ask Me Anything: “What Is Racism?”
In this article, I respond to this question and other related questions readers have asked over the last few months as it concerns the racial conflicts of our day.
As a disciple of Jesus, I recognize that the greatest way to transform a society is by transforming the people of the society. That’s what discipleship is. It’s as grassroots as one can get.
In conversations about race relations in America, let’s be willing to acknowledge the inadequacies of political parties to bring about true justice when the very people of either the party or the “polis” have not yet caught a vision for racial justice in their own hearts.
Feel free to share your responses to this article in the comments below. Please be respectful to each other as you do. Grace and peace.
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Footnotes:
[1] James Dobson acknowledged in 1973 that the Bible is silent on the matter of abortion and believed it was plausible for an evangelical to believe that “a developing embryo or fetus was not regarded as a full human being.” That same year, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention stated in response to the Roe v. Wade ruling, “I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separated from its mother that it became an individual person.” (Randall Balmer, Bad Faith (Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, 2021), pp. 34 & 36)
