Should Evangelicals understand how their numbers were pulled into the orbit of the Republican Party in the 70’s? Would knowing the origins of the Republican power brokers takeover of this large group of God-fearing individuals make any difference almost half a century later? I was a young believer in the decade of the seventy’s. I didn’t understand it at the time and have spent a great portion of my adult life confused by the actions of my fellow born again believers.
How did we get to the point that the term Evangelical is rarely associated with anything but absolute worship of anything and everything Republican? How did we get to the point that to be Evangelical basically means one who sacrifices their witness to associate themselves with a convicted felon who might possibly be the vilest individual ever thrust into our lives? If you want to know, read on. If not, go no further.
I was just over a month old when the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in the Brown vs. Board of Education case. The Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Over the next twenty years or so white parents who didn’t want their children being educated alongside African American children developed a large number of what I will call “segregation academies”. Basically a segregation academy is a school designed to educate white children in a segregated school. African American children were not allowed to enroll in these schools.
These schools were considered charitable organizations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This status gave these schools tax-free existence. It also meant that anyone who made contributions to these schools received tax breaks. Do I need to explain that segregation academies are inherently racist?
On June 30th, 1971 (while I was in public high school) the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Green v Connally that any organization that engaged in racial segregation or racial discrimination was not a charitable institution. This meant that they had no claims on tax exempt status.
The IRS started investigating these segregation academies including Bob Jones University in South Carolina. African Americans were not allowed to enroll at Bob Jones. The founder of Bob Jones (yes, he was named Bob Jones) believed that racial segregation was mandated by the Bible. It was a “whites only” educational institution with a so-called scriptural mandate.
When these schools started to lose their tax-exempt status, the Evangelical world stood up and took notice. Most of the segregation academies, including Bob Jones University were formed by groups either directly or indirectly associated with the Evangelical communities. Jerry Falwell’s Lynchburg Christian School was included in these segregation academies who faced IRS investigations.
How does this all related to the Evangelical – Republican ties that we see now in this country? It started with a powerful Republican political operative name Paul Weyrich. Weyrich was the founder of Heritage Foundation, a powerful conservative organization. Weyrich set a goal to attract Evangelicals into the Conservative Republican (Right Wing) party. By his own words, he struggled to get the job done at first. Abortion, pornography, prayer in schools, and the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution were issues that were used to attract Evangelicals. For the most part, at the time Evangelicals were not interested in joining in the political arena.
The beginnings of Weyrich’s political movement were marked by attacks on President Jimmy Carter, a Southern Baptist born again believer, for the actions of the IRS during his Presidency. Never mind that the origins of the IRS clamping down on the “segregation academies” began with a fellow Republican, Richard Nixon!
The IRS actions against segregated schools resulted in an increase in Evangelical interest in all things Republican. At that time, powerful Republican political operatives began the process of galvanizing Evangelicals into their political base. Over the next 50 years or so, that base has grown into a hugely successful Republican powerhouse.
The origin of Evangelical support for the Republican Party had nothing to do with Abortion. It was centered on the idea that the government could not tell parents of white children to allow them to be educated with children whose skin was not the same as theirs. In other words, the belief that their white children should not have their lives defiled by being educated with certain minorities. This was the seed that has germinated into Evangelical association with the Republican Party. To be clear, the Evangelical association with the Republican party was a reaction to the governments removal of tax-exemptions that allowed their racist academies to be maintained. The association was a reaction to the governments crack down on racism and segregation.
My research on this topic is extensive. If you are interested in a slightly more in-depth look at Race and the Rise of the Religious Right, read BAD FAITH by Randall Balmer. He is a terrific author and this book is heavily researched and worth a couple of hours that it would take to read it.
Independent Investigations 