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, titos 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 cspan. 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 cspan. Next, a look at religion and politics at Washington University and the center for president ial 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 africanamericans 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 postcivil 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 samesex marriage as either issues everyone should care about, or issues affecting the Africanamerican 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 Africanamerican 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 2d 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 abortionrights activists. Prolife 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 prolife 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 prolife 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 prolife 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 wellknown 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 samesex marriage. While black conservatives of the Prolife 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 samesex 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 samesex marriage. That changed last year in part because of obamass announcement, one could say after americans are conservative on the issue of samesex marriage and despite a tendency to vote for other causes, samesex marriage holding firm. Part of this has to do with religious police but also with equating samesex marriage with equal rights. Leaders such as a recently departed made it clear that the past two samesex 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 openminded people become, gods 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 samesex 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 samesex marriage actually took black religious conservative leaders by surprised to the naacp announced a few days later they supported the president statement on samesex 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 africanamerican 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 dont think samesex 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 samesex 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 samesex marriage to samesex rights. Gotss design for the family and marriages 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 samesex 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 samesex marriage was very important in light of the maryland Ballot Initiative in the 2012 election roster to commit samesex 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 obamass term. Obama receiving more than 90 of the africanamerican vote. What are we to make of these two issues of abortion and samesex marriage despite the disability . Of black conservatives during obamas 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 samesex marriage however, did not fare as well africanamerican slowly becoming more accepting of samesex 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 likeminded 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. Im from the university of virginia, and im delighted to be here. Thanks for sticking with us this afternoon. My remarks today stem from a question what happened to judeochristian america . Iin an essay in january 2014. The question was not a lament. Just a sincere inquiry based in name farreaching 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 longstanding 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 judeochristian 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 judeochristian area, during which democrats and republicans vie for dominance. I use the term spirituality very selfconsciously because we should be clear that most of those who are religiously disaffiliated are not atheists. That number is about 3 . So theres 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 mid20th 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 im 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. Its 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 ones 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 churchs 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, its 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 an