{"id":3236,"date":"2011-07-05T09:07:36","date_gmt":"2011-07-05T14:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/?p=3236"},"modified":"2011-07-04T09:19:55","modified_gmt":"2011-07-04T14:19:55","slug":"evangelicals-the-embattled-minority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tonyjones\/2011\/07\/05\/evangelicals-the-embattled-minority\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelicals: The Embattled Minority"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Christian Smith did all of us who follow the sociology of American evangelicalism a great service with his 1998 book, American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Therein, he described how evangelicals had developed a \u201csub-cultural identity,\u201d wherein they told themselves a story about their own position as an embattled minority, even as they became the most powerful voting bloc in the electorate.<\/p>\n

That self-defining narrative has continued unabated.\u00a0 Witness Micharah Bachlin<\/strong>, using the bully pulpit of FOX News to decry the lack of balance in the \u201clamestream media.\u201d\u00a0 And, mark my words, Bachlin\u2019s presidential campaign will be premised largely on the view that conservative evangelical voters are an underrepresented minority.<\/p>\n

In The Atlantic Monthly<\/em>\u2018s annual \u201cIdeas Issue,\u201d Idea #11, \u201cGay Is the New Normal<\/a>\u201d shows that evangelicals are already continuing this storyline:<\/p>\n

Perhaps this had to happen: the straight-rights movement is here. No, it does not call itself that. (Yet.) But opponents of same-sex marriage, and others who are unfriendly to the gay-rights movement, have adopted the posture of a victim group. They are, it seems \u2026 an oppressed majority.<\/p>\n

\u2026This change is a watershed in gay-straight relations, and it brings a disorienting political role reversal. It is the condemnation of homosexuality, rather than homosexuality itself, that will be increasingly stigmatized as morally deviant. And it is the opponents of gay equality who will insist they are the oppressed group, the true victims of civil-rights violations. Indeed, they have already developed, and are vigorously marketing, a \u201cgay bullies\u201d narrative.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read on at TheAtlantic<\/a> to read unsurprising quotes from Catholic and evangelical leaders about how ungodly America is, now that the majority of Americans is accepting of homosexuality.\u00a0 Just watch how this issue will play into the evangelical sub-cultural identity as we approach the 2012 election \u2014 evangelicals who oppose marriage equality will add this to their narrative of an oppressed minority.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian Smith did all of us who follow the sociology of American evangelicalism a great service with his 1998 book, American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving.\u00a0 Therein, he described how evangelicals had developed a \u201csub-cultural identity,\u201d wherein they told themselves a story about their own position as an embattled minority, even as they became the most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,17],"tags":[118,233],"class_list":["post-3236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-christianity-in-america","category-glbt","tag-christian-smith","tag-evangelicalism"],"yoast_head":"\nEvangelicals: The Embattled Minority<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christian Smith did all of us who follow the sociology of American evangelicalism a great service 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