The demise of the religious right?

The religious right movement has not died.

All political parties use religion, just not as blatently as the Republicans have.

No we are not about to enter a new progressive era. Government will not be reformed.

Every passionate partisan of any political party is a "moral values" voter. They are expressing their moral values.

Religion should attempt to get people who will support their issues in government elected. Religion should attempt to get moral laws passed. But those who are religious should also remember that just because someone claims to be of their beliefs does not mean that they actually do. Religion can be used by cynical people out to steal all they can from the public purse.

I think government, in fact, all governments, reform; it is how they evolved, and it is narrow sighted to believe nothing will ever change.

On the other hand, moral views in government should not only include the behaviour of politicians, but the basics agreed within government. Religions have, collectively, often proved divisive; 'this is right and therefore you are wrong' attitudes do not help people of differing religions live in harmony. In fact, the religions themselves are mere ideas, moral guidelines; it is perhaps more truthful to realise that certain followers of religions choose not to see others as their fellow humans.

It is a tough philosophical question.

I particularly enjoyed your comments about the need to be curious, to always go deeper into our questions. A real "war on terror" would target those who claim to have the "right" answers about what happens to us when we die. A deeper question to our spirituality would aim a moral conscience to stewardship to future generations with harm to none. Life is complicated, beautiful and extremely challenging. We seem to drift to violence through our belief systems, thinking others must think and act as we do. The famous linguist, Noam Chomsky, has said there's always underlying violence to any attempt to persuade. Dr. Martin Luther King has said we lose our moral power when another can smell our contempt for their position. As you referenced, "I'm not right wing or left wing...I'm looking out for the whole bird", so must we come together as a nation and planet, stepping beyond our divisive rhetoric of pro life/pro choice, Republican/Democrat, liberal/conservative. It's time to grow beyond lame attempts to "an" answer and move deeper into the difficult questions that now face us. This is "big Hope" and the foundation of a spiritual nation.

I doubt that the "Religious Right" (IMHO is neither) is somehow going to vanish or fade away. Socially conservative, evangelical Christians are a significant minority of voters, and thus will continue to exercise the (shamefully few) constitutional political rights that all citizens are suppose to have.

I suspect that many of these types of voters, are feeling a bit of cyncism and burnout after having been promised so much -- in terms of social policy -- by the GOP since the 1980s, and having little to show for it. Abortion is still legal. Sodomy is not only legal, but "sodomites" want to (gasp! horror!) marry other sodomites.

I also suspect that this group of voters, has (1) always had less power then they believe, and is not always of one mind. I known many people who fall into this group who (2) really want the government to do more to fight poverty/protect the environment and thus often find the economic-environmental polices of progressives to be appealing. (3) turned off by how malicious and mean-spirited the cultural war debates have gotten (these past decades) on both sides.

Also, I suspect that age is a factor here.

I've posted this elsewhere, but it seems appropriate to repeat it here. I think the religious right has been thouroughly discredited. Here goes:

My name is Michael, and the meaning of my name in Hebrew is actually a question: "Who is like God?"

How can anyone even attempt an answer? To do so would be to say that one understands God, that one is equal to God. The question cannot be answered.

Since it is impossible to speak with knowledge of God, we are compelled to make assumptions. The first assumption to be made must be that God does or does not exist. Either way, the assumption is based on a belief in a knowledge that we can not possess. This is a conundrum.

The Founding Fathers were all men of faith, yet they clearly understood what Joshua K understands, that "…history shows…it doesn't end well for the religion or the country when religion becomes a significant player in decisions and debate."

We have suffered greatly over the past eight years, directly as a result of faith-based politics, and will continue to suffer the consequences for a long time to come.

The current administration, enabled by the religious neo-conservatives and right-wingers, have used faith simply as a marketing tool and as a result has delivered to the American people the worst government in the history of our country.

These same leaders who wear their religion on their sleeves, with such self-righteousness, arrogance and hubris, have proven themselves ethically and morally bankrupt.

So what can we say about the role of faith in public life? It is clear to me that faith should play no role whatsoever.