Myths about "white evangelicals"
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  Myths about "white evangelicals"
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Author Topic: Myths about "white evangelicals"  (Read 977 times)
All Along The Watchtower
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« on: April 02, 2013, 12:11:10 PM »

Sorry for the BRTD-style thread Tongue

Anyway, there seem to be some rather persistent myths about the group identified for demographic and political purpose as "White evangelical Protestants."

1. They are one monolithic group. There are many, many different shades of "White evangelical Protestant." From the Southern Baptist Convention, to all the different Pentecostal sects, to different groups of Presbyterians, Lutherans, or Adventists, to the  growing number of evangelicals who don't identify as any denomination at all, there is quite a bit of theological and denominational diversity among this segment of the population.

2. They are almost all right-wing. Among older and middle-aged evangelicals, this is usually true, especially in recent years. Among the younger evangelicals, though, there is growing concern for poverty and the environment and somewhat less obsession with abortion and gay marriage, in general, than their older counterparts. Additionally, there are still some older white evangelicals in rural parts of the South in particular who hold on to their Democratic allegiances, particularly at the local/state levels.

3.They are a poor, uneducated group of people. While there are many poor white evangelicals, particularly in rural parts of the South and elsewhere, a significant number have become solidly middle class in both income and educational attainment,  and some are even wealthier than that. Again, many of them now go to large, high-budget non-denominational and denominational churches in the newer suburbs and exurbs around the country.

4. They are mostly Southern. While the Southern states do have the largest proportion of white evangelicals, they have been growing in numbers  around the country, particularly in the Midwest and West.

While some of the stereotypes have a basis in truth, I think sometimes, people overstate the case.
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Indy Texas
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« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2013, 01:14:09 AM »

1. In terms of political ramifications, evangelicals actually are pretty monolithic. Theological and denominational diversity aside, there's not much difference of opinion on abortion or the gays. An evangelical who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage isn't an evangelical.

2. The younger evangelicals you are referring to are generally part of what is known as the Emerging Church Movement. I know several of these people. They do tend to be very concerned with poverty and social justice. They tend to either oppose gay marriage or be indifferent, but it's not a motivating issue for them. If anything, they are more anti-abortion than their parents and grandparents. In a way, they have some odd similarities with Catholics in the developing world.

3. Evangelicals would have nowhere near the influence in the Republican Party that they do were it not for the wealthy evangelicals that can be found in suburbs around every major American city.

4. The only non-Southern state I can think of where evangelical Christians exercise considerable influence in politics is Kansas. (Up until recently, Colorado would have been another).
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BRTD
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« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2013, 09:01:01 AM »

An evangelical who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage isn't an evangelical.

So what am I?
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DC Al Fine
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« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2013, 09:37:03 AM »

BRTD's right. Pro-choice/Pro-SSM evangelicals are rare, but it isn't a defining issue for them religiously.
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DemPGH
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« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2013, 10:31:55 AM »

Generally speaking, I disagree with 1-2 and agree with 3-4, but that's broadly and generally.

1-2) I think they tend to be rurals, particularly older, and that's a fairly monolithic group. I would say the ones that still hold to the Democratic party are of the conservative type - pro-gun, anti-SSM, anti-tax, and so on. But they want their social security and medicare.

3-4) I agree here. They are not all uneducated, for one thing - plenty are, in fact. It's just that for whatever reason the education did not change their outlook or open their minds; of course, it may depend upon the education as well and where they got it. I have no idea what sort of things they would typically major in in college, but I would only guess Business or Finance or something with some tangible practicality. But that's purely a guess. I sincerely doubt they would be art restoration or philosophy majors. I have an aunt who attends church - her preacher and his kids fall into this category. One is a lawyer, another a manager of something, and the preacher has psychology and counseling degrees.

And they're decidedly not mostly southern as the rural north illustrates.
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All Along The Watchtower
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« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2013, 02:10:33 PM »
« Edited: April 04, 2013, 02:13:48 PM by Progressive Realist »

1. In terms of political ramifications, evangelicals actually are pretty monolithic. Theological and denominational diversity aside, there's not much difference of opinion on abortion or the gays. An evangelical who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage isn't an evangelical.

Abortion and gays aren't the only political issues, you know.

And even in terms of partisan breakdown-at least 20% of white evangelicals nationwide do not vote Republican. 1 in 5. That's not totally monolithic.

Now, if you look at black evangelicals....they're considerably more Democratic than white evangelicals are Republican.
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Harry
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« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2013, 03:04:57 PM »


Catholic. You inherited it from your mother.
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H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY
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« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2013, 04:04:53 PM »


A lunatic.
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BRTD
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« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2013, 10:41:13 AM »


Catholic. You inherited it from your mother.

Uh, even the Catholic church does not claim to be an ethnicity that is inherited using the rules of what defines someone as a Jew, and even someone born to a Jewish mother who converts to something else is still also that something else, even if they remain ethnically Jewish. My mother is not ethnically "Catholic", she is ethnically half German/Swedish. So is my dad by the way who was never Catholic.
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