Do evangelical Christian politicians help evangelicals?

But evangelicals continued in politics without Graham. By the time Ronald Reagan rose to prominence, they had become a permanent part of the GOP base. When Reagan appeared before 15,000 religious leaders at the Religious Roundtable’s National Affairs Briefing in 1980, he told the crowd: “I know you can’t endorse me . . . but I want you to know that I endorse you and what you are doing.” Jerry Falwell, head of the Moral Majority, called Reagan’s election “the greatest day for the cause of conservatism and morality in my adult life.” Reagan had counted on the televangelist to help him defeat former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter in the South. An alliance like the one between Graham and Nixon seemed mutually beneficial.

Yet Reagan did little for evangelicals once he reached the Oval Office. He gave them few key appointments in his administration, and in 1981, he met with Falwell and Paul Weyrich, founder of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and asked that they put their agenda on the back burner while he negotiated with Congress over taxes. They agreed — and later regretted it. Though Reagan put pro-life justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court and made like-minded William Rehnquist chief justice, he also nominated Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, co-authors of the 1992 opinion Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe v Wade. Evangelicals wanted a constitutional amendment banning abortion, but Reagan proved unwilling to push for legislation doomed to die in a Democratic Congress. “The religious right was sweet-talked,” Weyrich complained at the end of Reagan’s first term.

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That evangelicals have been so disappointed with the presidents they elect suggests that politics might not be the best avenue to achieve their aims. Politics demands compromise and conciliation that counter evangelical calls for purity. When Michele Bachmann insists that “social conservatism is fiscal conservatism,” does she understand that conservative Christians want to do more than cut taxes? When Tim Pawlenty names his “political heroes” — “I love Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus Christ” — does he know that making war wasn’t part of the carpenter from Judea’s program?

If Perry thinks politicking is more important than proselytizing, conservative Christians will not fare well in 2012, even if their candidates win. Perhaps they should turn to Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents.” After all, mixing religion and politics is a slithery business.

outlook@washpost.com

David Sehat is an assistant professor of history at Georgia State University and the author of “The Myth of American Religious Freedom.”

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