[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> this week, tomorrow night represented steve russell. test that his life in congress and his childhood experiences. >> i nearly died several times from birth, i almost died at that time. my mother had had a couple of miscarriages prior to me. i nearly died at birth. she always told me i was her little fighter. it does something to a child that you will not quit here you

will persevere and stay with something until you get it done. i survived a bout of appendicitis. my 10 this -- my appendix actually ruptured. it was hours before actually had any medical attention to deal with that. did not know what it was. i felt better after it ruptured. intensive care for weeks, tito's major surgery spirit my folks thought they were going to lose me. >> you did not know it was just that it had ruptured? >> i did not. it suddenly felt better and the pressure was relieved and i went outside and played, on a saturday. i that night, i was doubled over in pain. i asked my mother during that time, am i going to die? she said we do not know, but we are praying and we think you

will make it. our weeklong profile of congressional freshmen begins to my night with representative steve russell tomorrow night on c-span. also tomorrow night, portions from a recent conference of independence. speakers discuss changes to the political system that could help candidates and the advantages of an american electorate that increasingly identifies itself as independent peer tomorrow night here on c-span. next, a look at religion and politics at washington university and the center for presidential history. the topics include the apocalypse. it is just over an hour.

>> considering the 2004 election -- now, that was an interesting anomaly. i could go into that but it is another story altogether. keep it in mind. then there is the question, how do lack conservatives -- how do

these believers vote for obama in some cases while chastising in some cases what issues prompt them to make alliances with evangelicals against the first black president? i would look just like to look at abortion issues. religious concerns are rooted in historical issues in little bit of history. michael states at the outset one extent to which american conservatism has been conditioned by a racist notion of black inferiority, the existence of powerful black

spokespeople is astounding. attempts to understand how they arrive in spite of an inherent racial bias in conservatism, my contention is you cannot understand black conservatives without understanding how notions of religiosity and respectability are valued as a counter narrative to the denigration of african-americans racially and white conservatism. taking respectability seriously gives a different genealogy for black conservatives. rejecting both institutions embracing a white standard was the key to success assimilation, and respect.

the analysis of the genealogy of black conservatism is found, i believe within black christian churches to embrace prosperity and respectability in the post-civil rights era is part of the issue. a piece i wrote entitled "the black church from prof suit prosperity" i argued respectability are lodged in emphasis of black churches switching from prophetic action to prosperity. additionally, the churches shifting focus to individual sins becoming respectable and profs -- prosperous led to their prosthetic voice in the public realm. it is this dissonance which has made the manner in which lack conservatives engage barack obama push both to the forefront and push them into a quandary. the issues they care about abortion and same-sex marriage as either issues everyone should care about, or issues affecting the african-american community.

what does the election of the first black president due to the alliances? to bail -- do they remain or depart with white evangelicals and other conservatives? i believe for black conservatives unwind themselves with white conservatives, that remain true to specific issues, allow for them to fight for black families while at the same time balkanized and them from both communities. both conservatives and the african -- african-american community historically have used the term genocide. black population through abortion arises through a misappropriation of the founder of planned parenthood. a project started by her in the same year was designed to bring health care to black women in

the south. a religious mr. should work together in order for the project to succeed in gaining the trust of the black community. saying they want the minister 2-d bunk claims if they rose that the program was designed to exterminate the community. -- abortion wouldst simply turn this phrase, and would do that through abortion, which is why people come against plan parenthood a lot. to promote the ideas black people are being considered less than human by abortion-rights activists. pro-life activists, including after americans claim that much like the decision in the supreme court that -- roe versus wade the rise of this began to increase.

began to preach a series on how abortion was black genocide. he would also go a long to be a supporter of john mccain, who had to get rid of him two months later. other black conservatives would pick up the tempo, using the term black genocide to describe abortion and linking obama to it. black pro-life -- would continue to do this throughout the 2000 campaign and they would put their descent in front of major democratic events. when the convention was held in denver in 2008, they protested along with a whole lot of other pro-life democratic activists. this signals a new tactic. when we think about what happened right after the inauguration there was an uptick in how people lived after

pro-life issues and complaining about obama. one thing that happened during this time was a new movie that came out in june of 2009. it was the story of black genocide. produced and funded by a white abortion activists it depicted how abortion targeted black communities through eugenics and planned parenthood. it used a real death use a real conspiracy thesis for the origins of their movement, eugenics and planned parenthood. there was a compelling trailer on youtube. this was shown began traveling

to colleges and churches. black children are an endangered species. nancy smith, director of the georgia right to life would tell the new york times she was surprised they were spending less money and that was a result because of this movie being shown in the atlanta georgia area. similar billboards would appear across the country in 2011. sponsored by pastor stephen right here in dallas, a founder of life always. on the south side of chicago, a picture of president obama with a caption "every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted. a rather colorful figure ran into thousand 10 and lost and

touted the genocidal plot to decimate the model of our community and black leaders are silent. their silence is egregious and tantamount to approval. speakers like this not as well known to the broader black population they are well-known in white evangelical conservative circles and are given an invitation often to speak at major events. they have achieved a respectability that their fellow lack conservatives desire. other black conservatives who vote democratic to switch their voting patterns simply out of the desire to see roe versus wade repealed. i want to shift to talking about black conservatives and same-sex marriage. while black conservatives of the pro-life movement worked hard to make after americans pay attention to their cause conservatives support of marriage between a man and a

woman had much more support in an african committee. a pew center research poll said there was a scant 2% difference black protestants in 2003 two 2013, 60 4%, to change their minds about same-sex marriage on the grounds of religious belief. on other -- in other words, and only 2% difference, negligible in the amount of people who did not believe in same-sex marriage. that changed last year in part because of obama's's announcement, one could say after americans are conservative on the issue of same-sex marriage and despite a tendency to vote for other causes, same-sex marriage holding firm. part of this has to do with religious police but also with equating same-sex marriage with equal rights. leaders such as a recently departed made it clear that the past two same-sex marriage was not a cause to be equated with the black civil rights movement.

in interview, he said this. "despite what many in this world are you," marriage is a union meant to be shared between a man and a woman and a matter how open-minded people become, god's word cannot be changed and should not be ignored. god created man to be husbands of lives and women to be wives of husband. a position with many after americans announced defining what a conservative is in their context. on the one hand, these voters hold to scripture concerning sexuality and marriage. government intervention, benefits, and democratic candidates. the question is, should they can debt be considered true democratic voters? obama himself articulated several stances on same-sex marriage including yes as far back as 1998, supported by the repeal of doma, and supporting civil unions. while obama had undergone a

progression of thinking, his announcement in support of same-sex marriage actually took black religious conservative leaders by surprised to the naacp announced a few days later they supported the president'statement on same-sex marriage, another blow that puts lack conservative leaders on the defensive. he does of the announcement, a temple in baltimore and the president of the coalition of african-american pastors. a prosperity person who uses colloquialism in his congregation, was on every new show in the days following the announcement expressing his dismay at the president's in. it is a long quote but i think it captures the essence of what is going on with a lot of black pastors. while many clergy are trying to assert is this decision made on political expediency, the timing does not make sense given what

has happened in north carolina. my question is, is obama exchanging one minority for another? it is speculated the president is taking the black vote for granted. the president has not saved to find one credible black pastor of no to stand with him on this issue and that is saying something. other noted black -- in d.c. a few days after the announcement the bishop announced, i don't think same-sex marriage is relevant to the civil rights fight at all. it is a fight between right and wrong. it happens to be wrong. what was noticeable was the reiteration -- the reiteration

on same-sex marriage. the church of god in >>, the largest after american pentecostal denomination in the country, immediately reissued their statement on gay marriage from 2004 to the press and members of the nomination, linking the debate of same-sex marriage to same-sex rights. got's's design for the family and marriage's for families and women. also made the distinction that between the rights of the state and the right of the church p and i should say here a lot of black churches were really for civil unions but were not for same-sex marriages. there is a big difference. more importantly positions of the president are consistent with congregational members. the issue becomes the nexus of our consideration. even jamaal bryant would concede for the election as november 2012 group closer, registering

voters in a church in baltimore. his opposition of same-sex marriage was very important in light of the maryland ballot initiative in the 2012 election roster to commit same-sex marriage, known as referendum six in maryland. between black pastors and churches for and against the referendum, it passed on election night in 2012 president obama's's term. obama receiving more than 90% of the african-american vote. what are we to make of these two issues of abortion and same-sex marriage despite the disability ? of black conservatives during obama's presidency, the matter with which they raise these issues -- black conservatives working with white organizations were able to amplify the voices. white antiabortion issues benefited from black conservative faces to further their cause. the case for same-sex marriage

however, did not fare as well -- african-american slowly becoming more accepting of same-sex marriage. i black conservatives simply tools of the larger way conservative organizations? perhaps they are. perhaps not. but it is clear for the leadership that the two issues -- like value voters, essential marriage, and white marches bond like-minded people of all ethnicities. for black conservatives, crossing over to vote republican or becoming republican is placing moral issues over economic and other concerns in the community may alienate them from black voters who are conservative in the personal moral beliefs but are moderate when it comes to issues of economic, education, and other

liberal issues. factoring in barack obama as the first black president has certainly made it more difficult for black conservatives. thank you. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm from the university of virginia, and i'm delighted to be here. thanks for sticking with us this afternoon. my remarks today stem from a question -- what happened to judeo-christian america?

iin an essay in january 2014. the question was not a lament. just a sincere inquiry based in name far-reaching observation. the question arose from the simple fact that the religious demographics of the united states, and the religious sensibilities of many americans, have undergone profound shift the last two decades. modest increases in religious diversity, and even more cynically, a market rise in religious affiliation, especially among the young, are transforming long-standing realities of american lives, and therefore, american politics, as well. roughly 20% of the population is unaffiliated. while the percentage of christians has dropped from 95% in 1960 to 75% say. so this is a 75% christian, 20% unaffiliated, 5% everyone else breakdown that kevin schultz talk to us about earlier.

these two phenomena -- the decline in christianity and the rise and religiously unaffiliated -- are very much two sides of the same demographic coin. almost the entirety of the religiously unaffiliated are whites, protestants, catholics who have left their churches. more or less fully describes the arena we call religion and politics, in other words, is over. so what did happen to judeo-christian america and what is taking its place? what like in history shed on his development? judeo christianity, it must be said, had a good run. the term itself dates from the his meaning in the 20th century. in the 1930s, leader of the interface movements redeployed the term is -- but no more.

a quarter century ago, robert famously wrote a shift from dominantly slows and too broad liberal coalitions. increasingly, it seems that we are witnessing yet another restructuring away from the judeo-christian area, during which democrats and republicans vie for dominance. i use the term spirituality very

self-consciously because we should be clear that most of those who are religiously disaffiliated are not atheists. that number is about 3%. so there's actually a certain kind of religious content to the religiously disaffiliated that we need to come to terms with. the journalist, peter barnard, has made a convincing case, i think, that the turn from religion is best understood and political terms. in the mid-20th century, he writes, liberals were almost as likely as conservatives to attend church. but starting in the 1970s -- liberals began to identify organized christianity with politics. religiously unaffiliated are disproportionately liberal. many young americans, he

concludes, and i love his phrasing here, has begun voting against the gop on sunday morning by declining to attend church. to begin to analyze this phenomena historically, i think we must first recognize that the spiritual but not religious at today are inheritors of a legacy rooted in the protestantism of 18th and 19th century. here i'm tempted to trace lines -- through the transcendentalist revolt against unitarianism, and onto the history of liberal theology and its popularization in the 20th century. this narrative will track the evolving distinction between the transient and the permanent in christianity.

outer churchly forthcoming go, parker contended, while the essence of religious truth remains. a formulation that allows then and i think continues to allow the rejection of church without the rejection of god. i can hear the exact formulation in my religious study classes today. rather than pursue this theological line, however, i want to pursue in a more historical vein. the historical mechanisms by which this kind of thinking, this sort of distinction between the transient and permanent, accorded legitimacy. the way i want to do that, for the purposes of this talk today, is to talk about the theological and quandary presented by others. the hallmark of religious liberalism has been its spiritual cosmopolitanism. it's religious interests and

others. a phenomenon that new picket us today from jews doing yoga and much more. christian smith, and his study of young adults published in 2009, finds that majorities agree with the propositions -- these other questions he are asked. many religions are true. it is okay to pick and choose religious beliefs without having to accept the teachings of it as a whole. and it is okay to practice religion besides one's own. the majority of adults agree with these phrases. a look back to one of the most challenging encounters of american liberalism with religious others reveals that the dynamics at play aare in these emerging cosmopolitan sensibilities. the earliest 20th century is where want to turn. while intellectuals embrace new anthropological and philosophical understandings of race, stemming from the

scholarship of france boas leaders in the church's work to disentangle missionary work from western culture and racial imperialism. a project that resulted in the 1930s to report - thinking missions. while religious liberals in the u.s. subsequently aadopted and adapted such anticolonial techniques for their own theological and political purposes. the most compelling example of this, i think, and what i want to dwell on for the remainder of my talk is that of mohammed k gandhi and his impact on american spirituality.

in short, gotti transformed the imagination of 20th century liberals to process that can best be described as canonization. the canonization of gandhi, as a liberal protestant faith challenge american liberals to decouple their christianity from its hegemonic question identity. to find, once again, it's permanent essence against the corruption of history. gandhi, more than any other figure, but really more precisely, the idea of gandhi -- be constructed idea of gandhi -- as a universal saint demanded of american religious liberals a radical rethinking of the relationship of christianity to the west and racial ankle on the orders. a key figure here is stanley jones. methodist missionary and author of the best-selling book -- jones, along with a handful of

others, served as the most influential interpreter of gandhi for the north american protestant audience. as the most famous missionary, and one of the most admired man in the united states, joneses framing of gandhi carried significant weight, and entered a political climate ripe for recalibration. he was an acquaintance and in mire of gandhi for decades, and was, in fact, scheduled to meet with gandhi and the day he was assassinated. jones penned him in 1938 is a tribute to fallen hero. in this work, he portrayed gandhi as a hero -- through his methods and spirit, they were in large measure reconciled. perhaps a bit optimistic there. since the 19th century, as i've said, liberal protestantism -- jones presented gandhi and similar terms. despite his constant protests against the christian faith, jones wrote -- he was more

christianized the most christians. in this way, according to jones, gandhi just together people of various viewpoints and makes them feel as though they have a common center. in some ways, the veneration of gandhi is so thoroughly established that it can be hard to remember how radical this universe project was. and the degree of intellectual and the logical conclusion is required. we must not try to claim him when he, himself, try to repudiate the claims, jones conceded. he was fundamentally a hindu. the roots of his life was not in christ. but jones, who knew gandhi and loved candy, was unable to let this be the last -- love gandhi,

was unable to let this be the last word. so, he made him into a man of spirit and the eternal, rather than a man of time and place in history. he became, in other words, a liberal protestant saint. the phrases jones used to bridge this gap are remarkable. the distinction between a natural christian and an orthodox one reveals the manner in which gyn, as defined by jones, define the essence. he reads the higher plain of natural faith -- unbounded universal. the men who fought christian civilization furthered the real thing, jones proclaimed. he has used mahatma gandhi to help christianize unchristianed christianity.

the excreted jones for embracing hindu is a religious freedom. a pamphlet describing jones's admiration of gandhi -- this is what stanley jones believes was the pamphlets title, and for the additional tagline -- if you believe the lord jesus christ is the savior of the world, and not mahatma gandhi, read this. jones was not to be deterred. he prepared his own circular called -- are we too proud to learn from a hindu. gandhi's pretty vocal critics of the so-called -- political critiques of the so-called christian nation. jones regularly spoke in the u.s. about the need for a more viable economic order, and condemned american jim crow. the new york unitarian minister,

john haynes holmes -- another of gandhi's most significant interlocutors -- stated that more provocatively -- in some ways, i think it's unitarian sensibilities and framing of this issue are the ones that executed today, but in some ways, what jones had to do as a methodist more clearly reveals the theological tensions of midcentury. so i refer to holmes here as a figure who is pointing forward in some ways, to our own spiritual but not religious. he was a socialist, a path of us, a leader of the aclu and the naacp. and a founder what he called the all world gandhi fellowship. holmes made the case for gandhi

that, as i said, most clearly resonates with the spiritual flight from organized christianity that we see today. i'm going to read an extended quote here from john homes. this is from 1944. the basic trouble lies in the fact that the greatest of all indians, the most influential among his countrymen, and a figure of exalted spiritual stature declines to become converted to the christian gospel. he certainly is a better christian in the ethical sense of the word, then the overwhelming multitude of those who profess the christian faith. but all this only makes it more irritating that gandhi throughout his career -- christianity is, in essence, a good and true religion. gandhi gladly use of the scriptures, prayers of these religions.

but no religions, christianity or other, has a monopoly on faith. has any monopoly on truth. hinduism, as well as christianity, can save the soul and redeem the world. but this is a flat repudiation of christianity to be a uniquely inspired faith. it opens up the way to a whole dangerous concept of the religion as the universal expense of mankind. the very magnitude in beauty of gandhi's personality, as a hindu, constitutes a serious reflection upon the indispensable nature of the christian gospel. this is his unpardonable sin that a non-christian can match a christian in virtue. i think that is just a fantastic paragraph. as emerson and parker has done

in the 19th century, the call to gandhi in the 20th century, and even more, of course, the broad movement towards an emerging -- this lay the groundwork for the religious and political shifts now underway. leaving organized religion because they affirm -- are certainly not to be found increase or rituals. yet, as the examples of the 20th century cosmopolitanism make clear, the revolt against christianity is not best describe the secularization. we are not witnessing the transformation of the united states into a north american sweden. not only large numbers of americans remain affiliated with traditional christianity for the

future the future, those who abandon christianity do not typically abandon religion. broadly understood. if anything, the religious nones aim to give religion and even wider berth, to liberate it. the german sociologist max weber argued that western religion was in the throes of disenchantment, a -- singles nothing more clearly than a massive generational shift towards reinterment. political christianity lost its bark. where now that spark may be found is a great drama of american religious life in a 21st-century. thanks. [applause]

>> thank you all for sticking this out. my name is matt sutton from washington state university. i'm not just referring to the day's proceedings -- substantial numbers of americans believe that the universe is rapidly moving towards its close. many americans are waiting for the icecaps to melt. global epidemics like ebola to spread. there is no doubt that americans, in recent decades have been consumed by popular nightmares. for some americans, there's a particularly religious dimension to this, as well. a recent poll revealed that 41% of all americans, that is well over 100 million people, and 58% of white evangelicals believe that jesus is definitely or probably coming back by the year

2050. their conviction that the second coming is imminent provides these christians with a powerful worldview, and an exclusive framework. it also affects how they live and act. this fosters among some christians in absolute morality, the pressure to write the worlds wrongs. they know there is no time for compromise, mediation -- they want to make sure they are on the right side of history. such police have impacted the modern world -- shifting everything from politics to popular culture and defense. today, what i'm going to focus on it are three individuals. david crash, -- , and billy graham. each of these individuals, like many otheramericans, drew their

inspiration from the bible. nevertheless, the features that each of themselves were very different, as well as their own understanding that they could play in bringing that future to be. while most americans would very much want to separate the violent processes of david cresh, and the mainstream evangelicalism of billy graham they have much more in common than i think most men and women realize. it has been edging forward since the early church, coming on a different moment of history. but there are two particular theological issues. there are two issues that are particularly important for understanding these three individuals. the first is the understanding or the view of the millennium. the book of revelation talks about 1000 year millennium. all three of these individuals believe that jesus is going to return before the millennium.

so they identify as premillennialists. the second issue has to do with what is going to happen as we approach that millennium. that is that most premillennialists believe the world is going to go through a period of tribulation. now, for those who believe that we are going to face tribulation or the end of time there's also a debate as to whether or not christians will endure the tribulation, or whether christians will be ruptured out of the world, taken to heaven, and not have to go through the tribulation that is going to happen everybody else was left behind. now, these issues have divided christians throughout history. so that is some of the theological background.

first, david koresh. he was raised on the seventh atavistic tradition. he eventually left the seventh day baptist and joined -- they talked about in the last days, god would raise up a leader. but before they establish that kingdom of god, they taught that christians would face horrific persecution. and that would ultimately lead to the pre-millennial post tribulation will return of jesus christ. what their beliefs, and what the priest, was that jesus's return would cleanse the earth in a bloody, horrific apocalypse. he was a compelling leader who is very charismatic and able to articulate their ideas. and what he taught was that they would be the sole

representatives of god on earth. as they are moving towards the last days, they would face off against the forces of evil during the tribulation.. so prepare for this, they began stockpiling guns in the texas compound. he also warned that they would face off against the forces of evil, and his forces of evil would often take form to the government -- through the government. many conservative christians throughout the last couple hundred years, believe that in the end days, part of what is going to fuel the tribulation is the rise of an antichrist. so, cresh is just one of many many leaders who would say that the government is going to be the enemy of the true church. as you all know, the atf raid of the compound. there was a bloodyconfrontation, and a 50 three-day standoff.

this seemed to mark the beginning of the end. this was the start of the tribulation. this is exactly what he warned was going to happen. he was actually fulfilling the prophecy. the atf and the fbi had, from the beginning, refused to take his view seriously. shortly after the immediate confrontation, he called the local sheriffs and try to explain to them that this was fulfilling the prophecy. that he could explain to the sheriff what was happening in hoping the sheriff would intervene to protect them from the federal government. the sheriff refused to listen. he responded by saying - this is life-and-death. theology is life-and-death. we know, after the fact, that the atf and fbi did not understand, do not take seriously his theological perspectives.

the standoff ended with the deaths of more than 80 individuals, including women and children. so what do we make of this? his apocalyptic ideas emerge from traditions. his understandings of a very small issue within theology -- tribulation -- was what distinguished him from most others. he saw in the bible evidence -- that they would have to endure this horrific suffering. and he believes that god wanted them to endure this tribulation, and got had chosen them to be a small ruminants of saints to physically battle the forces of antichrist. so in the atf wants their raid this minor point in theology produce truly cataclysmic results. the u.s. government, naively and

inadvertently, played into this theology and very tragic ways. so, while one group of christians -- anticipating the coming apocalypse -- died, another faded into obscurity. and that takes us to herald. on may 21, 2011, thousands of christians expected to be rapture to have an. as they prepare to leave this world, the media cover the story very carefully. there were stories in newspapers and on the internet. some of the most creative folks marked them by inflating blowup dolls with helium and releasing those dolls to the heavens. harold, by that time in elderly preacher from oakland, california -- had begun broadcasting on a radio network called family radio.

by the early 2000's, family radio had 140 stations in the u.s. and translated camping's radio shows into many different languages. in 1992, camping told his audience and followers that he had discovered after a lifetime of study the secret patterns embedded in the bible and he could determine when jesus would return to the are. the math is complicated but he essentially believed the world was 13,000 years old and you could trace adam's creation to a very specific year. so then the second coming what happened shortly after the 1300 year period. he argued it would probably

happen in 1988 but that his numbers might be off and it could be 2011. he knew what happened between september 15 and december 27 but could not tell us the hour or the day. you could know the month and the year. despite his confidence, he instructed followers not to plan for the rapture or give up their day jobs because they should live as though the return was 100 years away. his understanding of the tribulation district and many ways from that of qureshi and many -- koresh and many others. it was not marked by an armed conflict but i apostasy. camping believed the tribulation was already upon us, the signs were increasing numbers of

divorce, women taking leadership roles and increasing same-sex relations and a sexual promiscuity. this is different than the sense of tribulation that david koresh had. obviously after the rapture never occurred he disappeared from national news but a -- he emerged again, this time predicting christ return on may 21 2011. once again, he did not urge despair or aggressive action just radical evangelism. he claimed, we make incisions to believe the end might be far away, we are not infallible. his followers did not share his caveats. they took his ideas and ran wild and began putting up till boards

around the country and bus benches and bought rvs and painted them. i encounter them in a new york subway in 2010 and i saw one of their billboards and rural northern idaho in 2011. you probably saw them as well. they were sure that jesus would return, of course he did not and unlike david koresh they slowly faded back into obscurity. which takes us to billy graham. graham has been a strident apocalypsesist from the beginning of his career. two days after kerry truman noted the soviet union had admitted and atomic bomb. the world recognized there was a global apocalypse in the making and graham wanted to make the most of that to urge people to make decisions for christ and to be serious about their commitment. this is the team he played over and over again rub his career. and most of his revivals he

preached a message on the second coming of christ, he published a book called "world of flame," and in 1983 he of wrote -- published a book called "approaching hoofbeats." in 1992 a book called "storm warning." in 2010 he re-issued the book, updating for the modern context. at 91 years old he said, i believe the storm clouds are darker than they have ever been. prepare to meet your god, the signs of his imminent return have never been greater. for graham, he is creative and explaining the side. in the 60's it was the counterculture and the free speech movement. in the early 90's it was the aids crisis, gulf war and saddam hussein, post 9/11 he says it is the rise of muslim extremism

the global recession and the influence of what he sees as godless popular culture. all of these are signs we are living in the end time. so graham's work as linked the major issues of every generation to the coming apocalypse. what is it that sends graham -- sets graham apart from christians? first his view of the church. camping and david koresh culpable out of the church and graham did the opposite, he wanted believers to work together to build bridges which made him less offensive or threatening. he differed with qureshi -- koresh on the battle of armageddon. and unlike camping he believed you could not know the date of the second coming so it is

always imminent am a not right around this corner but the next corner. that was the genius to keep expectations high. camping criticize the american government and graham befriended politicians. while qureshi became -- david koresh -- so graham might've been more dangerous in terms of this influence about how he is influenced american history. the work of these three prophets of doom give life to the idea that millions believe the time is nine. -- night. the u.s. has produced creative and innovative leaders. sometimes like david koresh

their work threatens the nation, like harold camping they provide amusement and like billy graham the work can shape international politics and penetrate the white house. stories of all three reveal apocalypseism has been essential for understanding human and american history. [applause] >> this is the final presentation and the final panel after a long day of fascinating papers. i will do my best to keep you with me. it is a tricky thing to write about the recent past as i'm doing because time has a nasty way of knots topping -- not stopping.

right now there is much talk about the midterm elections whether they were a wave or a shellacking or the typical six-year loss the presidents receive. so six years ago as barack obama one and took office, when the council devised a shared space. hope was at the forefront in 2008. the long history of evangelicalism, this development could be seen as a reversion to the mean in terms of the christian right. but gauged on a curve of american politics within obama's adult lifetime, change seemed like an appropriate word.

this paper explores the significance of the obama phenomenon. his rise to power and tenure in office. in a notable shift in the previous 40 years of american political culture, evangelical politics stopped functioning as a proxy for religious politics. some evangelicals on the left learns to welcome this loss of status while many on the right are and were determined to reverse it. evangelical politics was not about to leave the public stage. the obama era signaled the decline of the privileged political force. the political fortunes of barack obama wrote alongside the resurgent evangelical left.

the unpopular presidency of george w. bush presented an opportunity for each, it harvard evangelical dissent and highlighted obama as an alternative. he was a fresh voice with little lyrical baggage at the time and obama was in a position to say the things that aggressive evangelicals wanted to hear. signs of a newly prominent progressivism were everywhere in 2006 and 2005 before that. from the opinion pages in the new york times to protests against bush to the presumably friendly calvin college in michigan. meanwhile jim wallis and sojourners became a national celebrity. after bush's narrow victory in 2004 there were a number of non-evangelical leaders like

howard dean and nancy pelosi who reached out to progressives and moderates and in some ways they echo the moves that bill clinton had made a decade earlier. combined with bushes growing unpopularity gave progressive evangelicals leverage. in many ways obama had anticipated the democratic party's new strategy. obama entered the national stage of the memorable keynote address at the daschle -- democratic national convention. obama said that we worship an awesome god. he was trying to blur the colors of the culture wars but many americans certainly recognize that raise awesome god as an allusion to the swaying chorus line of the popular worship

song. one of the few political advantages that obama's unorthodox background provided him was the chance to fashion his own story. obama was not the typical democrat voice in public life. he was not a white southern moderate like bill clinton or an african-american minister like jesse jackson or an urban catholic like mario cuomo. the presidential politics there were no precedents for a hawaiian, the middle america -- obama was able to craft an appealing story about the spiritual coming-of-age, spiritually his tail was a high

racial product of conservative upbringings among the largely african-american church in chicago. politically it was a story of how an instinctively secular activists inspired by the civil rights movement came to see how faith offered something vital to the prospect of transforming neighborhoods. his spiritual and political awakenings went hand-in-hand. for an ambitious lyrical figure obama was uncommonly candid about his lack of orthodoxy and i think here of a 2000 or interview he gave with a journalist named catherine. the interview was a more tension on the political right and obama was very much the voice of the candidate as christian seeker.

his multicultural upbringing if him a suspicion of dogma with language that employs -- implies a monopoly on the truth. by this obama was not only criticizing fundamentalism but he was departing from some established christian doctrines. he said, i find it hard to believe my god would send 4/5 of the world to hell. the obama story then momentarily aligned with evangelical politics, clearly obama saw this conversion is critical to his ambitions and i think this is interesting because a bit of irony or something here in that obama in my estimation was in many ways first -- the first successful candidate whose

background gave him the option of operating holy outside and evangelical framework. kennedy famously fell obligated to assuage the fears of white southern protestants and obama made a conscious skin is in to engage evangelicals. a key moment came when he spoke at the 2006 gathering of the renewal, and activist network associated with the evangelical left. obama frames it is both a strategic proposition to secular progressives and a challenge to step up their game. obama chided liberals including himself because, if we don't reach out to evangelical christians and other american to tell them what we stand or then the jerry falwell's and the alan keyes will continue to hold sway. obama had defeated alan keyes in the senate election.

still obama's confessional liberalism was on display, he did not shy away from referring to his position. just as boldly obama asked the faithful to adjust to a more pluralistic america, he said democracy demands the religiously motivated translate the concerns into universal rather than religiously specific values. jim wallis likened the speech to the kennedy all of branch to the southern baptists. obama had achieved much more the phenomena was born. the storyline of a new direction for politics was a critical part of the obama campaign narrative.

more important arguably than the actual tally of evangelical vote. especially notable from the modern evangelicals who came over. obama made a point of reaching out to robin it evangelicals who were not customarily associated with the christian right overwhelming sentiment at the time that george w. bush had damaged the evangelical brand and so such gestures matters. a number of other leaders like richard's isaac or the mega-church pastor joel hunter or the houston methodist pastor who is a confidant of president bush came to support obama the candidate but not the urban liberal wing of the democratic arty from which he hailed. a certain amount of opportunism factored into those relationships but very few

people who met him in this time. did not think he was residential material. obama reached out to the orlando mega-church pastor after he praised obama and the more perfect union speech delivered in response to the controversy surrounding jeremiah wright. that threaten to do the damage to the religious image see he a point of not squandering the goodwill of his evangelical backers. ron sider and iconic member of the evangelical left said obama understands evangelicals better than him he -- any democrat since president carter. the boldness of his strategy was an unabashedly attempt to drive a wedge through the evangelical center in the evangelical right tempted contemporaries to

exaggerate both the brett and depth of his politics. while obama made inroads, the god gap endured among evangelical voters as a whole. his substantive gains came elsewhere especially among latino voters who were the main reason why he won the majority of the total catholic vote. the reaction of the old and new guards to obama suggested they were on the defensive. except for maybe rick warren who was at obama's first inaugural and there were at least one persons like franklin graham who want -- who once obama popularity didn't waste of the all-time and going public with doubts about his piety. i think franklin graham's numerous comments force a paradox -- paradox concerning

the obama faith story, it was widely publicized. the chapter of france aaron c made the subject of wilder and wilder speculation. so it simply does not take anything at ace value by quite a few americans. in spite of obama's trial in 2008 the beltway conventional wisdom still held the most authentic political trends came from the right not the left. the rise of the tea party phenomena seemed true but strangely from my reading the rise of the tea arty did not fully alter the perception that the christian right hatter or not it's old self or in this is a diagnosis that the 2012 election confirmed.

less noted was the evangelical left return to a marginal status. the midterm election cycle saw momentary return to the thesis of evangelicalism as a political nemesis for democrats. the tea party promised something new on the right but as scarlet david campbell and robert put them convincingly show them, it was always significant in spite of all the talk about the more libertarian proclivities. a case in point was glenn beck restoring the rally on the capitol mall. it was a revival gathering that suggested what ecumenical christian right politics might look like. that itself was a counter to mormonism intentionally the interfaith

mishmash of civil religion updated or conservatism. look forward, look west and look to the heavens and make your choice back told the crowd. the rallying cry of religious liberty was getting more attention in 2012 was a kind of ecumenical glue but in some ways because the tea party was cast as a novel and libertarian leaning phenomenon, the presumption of the sick -- christian right declining was largely unchallenged. the status of the evangelical left which had been so and orton for how obama presented himself was even less certain echoing the history of his counterpart on the evangelical right evens out the left profile and headpiece with the election in 2008. still it was not a mere media construct, like other regressive

activist, evangelical leftist pushed obama on economic matters and criticized his willingness to compromise with the gop on tax cuts. with the conspicuous exception of abortion there were signs of a genuine convergence between even jealous him and -- evange lism and liberalism in the place of marriage. after obama came out for gay marriage several progressive evangelical bellwethers followed suit. a pioneering figure within the emerging church scene seen as a reaction against the omega church gop paradigm, mclaren said many evangelical critics involving his recently married son mentioned in the new york

times. meanwhile, jim wallis drew national attention for reserve -- reversing his position on same-sex marriage. the debate increasingly showed signs of resembling pass arguments about segregation and ongoing conflicts about abortion. randall ballmer has offered past debates about divorce. at the very least, discussions of sexual orientation had entered new territory, after the 2012 election, the obama inaugural committee once again i mr. -- a minister with a history of opposition to gay rights to pray at the ceremony this time the man whom obama had praised or his work on human trafficking quickly withdrew. the 2012 election offered a new explanation for the decline of the christian right. it was declining numbers rather

than threats from the evangelical left that truly hindered evangelical conservatism. there were several reports that highlighted the implausibly of the lingering assumption that evangelicalism was a majority. still, it is interesting to me that in 2012 the gop nominee mitt romney embraced a version of the george w. bush successful strategy. the assumption was that the evangelical electorate was still very much a slumbering giant and white evangelicals did turn out in great numbers for romney but obama still one fairly comfortably. as usual the political winds were easier to detect than actual policy changes were to affect.

in this presentation i am definitely slighting the policy side suggested obama had proven to be a consistent social liberal who operates within the faith-based framework he inherited from the bush administration, for example he kept the faith-based office and started a similar initiative in the state department. in conclusion, nearly four decades after letting 76, the year when george gallup junior announced the year of the evangelical and when jimmy carter won office the potential relevance was no longer taken for granted. among the chattering classes all signs suddenly pointed to decline, markers ranged from the sale of the iconic crystal cathedral mega church to the increasing number of americans who consider themselves spiritual not re