:A Tale of Two Baptists Jimmy ﺳﻢ؛ﻣﻮﺀand Jerry Falwell ل-
Brooks Flippen
Brooks Flippen is professor ofhistory at Southeastern ./ Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma .
At first glance they seemed ؛٠ .have so much in common Both President Jimmy Carter and evangelist Jerry Falwell were products ofthe early twentieth-century American rural South, both bom to devout mothers who stressed strict adherence ؛٠ their common Baptist faith. Both .stressed the value offamily I had a very developed sense of fam ily th at eentered around church “ C arter recalled. The family, Falwell concurred, “is God's activities basic ,״ u n it in society.*״ W hile both professed evangelicals, to be “bCoarter rn again and ״ Falwell em erged b itte r political enem ies, th eir sim ilarities paling as th eir policy differences fueled increasingly public disputes. T he devolution in the relationship of these two m en, sharing so m uch in com m on, tells -m u ch about how the libertine culture o fth e post-World War 11 age exacer bated ten sio n s w ithin the A m erican Baptist com m unity, proving a wedge to divide fu rth e r a faith already know n for its divisions. Fem inism , legal abortion, and d em ands for gay and lesbian civil rig h ts—am ong other ,issu es—ap peared a direct challenge to the traditional n u clear fam ily a n d as such, fueled a m ore doctrinaire, rigid, and politically active cohort of .B aptists De-em phasizing the autonom y of individual conscience so crucial historically to Baptists, these new activists m ade the C arter years an
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im p o rtan t period of transform ation. T he actions of Jim m y C arter and th e m a n n e r in w hich Je rry Falwell reacted proved pivotal in this transform ation. H elping to bring tensions w ithin the Baptist com m unity to a boil w hile adding publicity to the divisive issue of the n atu re of family, th e two w ere at the vanguard of a new chap ter in the long and fractious h isto ry of Baptists in Am erica. C ontention was nothing new to Baptists, of course, th eir traditional anti-creedal sen tim en t and aversion to h ierarchy ensuring no t only an em phasis on religious f r ^ o m —separation of church and state—b u t also a history o ^ n o m i n a t i o n a l dispute. In 1845 w ith the b ie n n ia l Convention split over slavery, th e S outhern Baptist C onvention (SBC) form ed. A fter the Civil War, A frican A m ericans dep arted to form th eir ow n congregations while, in m om re cen t years, Baptists frequently disagreed on issues such as th e social gospel, evolution, Catholic im m igration, and tem p eran ce. Scholars have no ted the role Baptists played in early m anifestations o f th e m o d ern Religious Right, often led b y grassroots activists an d disagreeing on the w isdom of political involvem ent.2 T hroughout the years Baptists organized affiliations, such as the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) in 1 5 0 و, to prom ote particular theological interpretations. Adopting a statem ent of faith that suggested a m ore doctrinal approach and greater em phasis on the inerrancy of scripture th an the SBC, the BBFI operated as a m ore conservative organization even if its roots and theology strongly overlapped. In short, the SBC and the BBFI m aintained separate affiliations b u t shared a com m on heritage and, at least in regard to the m ore fundam entalist elem ents w ithin the SBC, friendly relations. T hey both em phasized scripture, adult baptism , family, and m issionary work, assum ing as th eir p rim ary goal the salvation of individual souls m oro th an any collective redem ption of society. ft was into this relatively stable am algam th at C arter and Falwell entered, C arter a m em b er of the SBC and Falwell ffie BBFI. Falwell's T hom as Road Baptist C hurch occasionally w orked wiffi conservative SBC-affiliated congregations w hile Falwell som etim es coordinated education an d m issionary outreach wiffi like-m inded SBC leaders.2 If nothing else, ffie associations wiffi w hich C arter and Falwell aligned w ere distinct b u t still p art o f a collective whole, th eir shared traditions of independence and evangelism still providing a theological um brella th at defined
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and u n ited them.* By the end of th e C arter presidency, however, all this had changed. A ny u n ity h ad gone th e w ay of past Baptist disputes. C arter and Falwell h ad led the charge, and Baptists in A m erica would n ev er he .th e sam e
Foundations for a New Schism T he old problem o frace was the fir^ fo n to fd is se n s io n to come. Em bracing th e activism o f fellow Baptist M artin L uther King Jr., C arter advocated in integration of his ?lains M em bers Baptist w hoCwhurch ere m1966 ore ״. progressive.٠ C arter recalled. Falwell, however, disagreed split off in ,״. his fam ous1و
serm M inisters on. “Fand reachers M archers are “not 65״
he countered, called b uto t “soul be politicians w in n ers״.ج ,״ -Such pietistic separation, however, was difficult for Falwell to m ain tain. T hree years before his serm on the Suprem e Court had declared in Engel vs. Vitale that school prayer was unconstitutional. By 1965 a growing .youth counterculture challenged the ordered world m any Baptists knew W hen the Internal Revenue Service prom ised in 1970 to revoke the tax exem ptions of racially discrim inatory schools, m any Baptist, and followed six years later by revoking the exem ption for Bob Jones University, Falwell reversed course and em braced political activism as a defense against cultural dynam ism . The 1RS ruling, Falwell later recalled, “m ade [the SBC andMBBFI] irroring realize Falwell's that we newhad emto phasis fight .״ on universal truths, the SBC revised its statem ent of faith in 1963, adding to its pream ble th at Baptist autonom y did not m ean “an absence of certain This addition, another revision declared in 2000, “rightly doctrines sought .״ to identify and affirm certain definitive doctrines.that ״united all Baptists This growing conservatism strengthened the theological overlap w ith the ®.BBFI b u t alienated m any m oderates At the core of the new conservative critique was a concern that the libertine culture posed, in Falwell's words, a “vicious assault on the fam ily .״ -Fem inism 's narcissistic individualism m ocked the traditional, divinely ordained role of housew ife and encouraged despondency. It “distorted according to a Falwell colleague. “The [Baptist] church our values is not ,״ w ithout blam e and m ust reassert the dignity o fth e fam ily:Falwell .״ agreed God called the father toTied be the to the spiritual critique leader were.״ “7 issues such as hom osexuality and abortion. “M ilitant hom osexuals exploit
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disillusionm ent w ith m arriage, ״wrote one Baptist. “Hom osexuality is a sign of the family's failure to be w hat the society needs it to be: a force for stability, the locus of affection, and the place w here children m ust learn love, trust, and belief. ״Abortion, others claimed, spoke to an individualism th at u n d erm in ed m arriage, de-em phasizing family and children.8 This defense of family em phasized certain scriptural passages while denying alternative interpretations. Noting the destruction of the city of Sodom, the codes of Leviticus, and the letters of ?aul, conservatives argued th at scripture condem ned sodom y on fifteen occasions. Moreover, the Bible proscribed w om en as hom em akers and helpm ates, the principle vessels of virtue b u t in need of protection, ?aul's letter to the Ephesians was clear. “Wives, subm it yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord," the verse read. “For the husband is the h ead of the wifo, even as Christ is h ead of the church." M issouri Baptist pastor Jo h n Feroley sum m arized this view o ^ c rip tu re : “God m ade m en and w om en w ith a difference.*؛״ T he foundations for a new strain of conservative Baptists h ad only ju s t begun, however, w ith any doctrine far from com plete, w h ile som e Baptists pro tested the controversial 1973 S uprem e C ourt decision Roe vs. Wade th at established abortion as a constitutional right, m ost rem ain ed silent, m an y m aintaining th at the decision was an appropriate articulation of the Baptist tradition of separation of church and state. “Religious liberty, h u m a n equality and justice are advanced by the decision," the SBC reported.™ Ed Dobson, an associate of Falwell's, recalled th at abortion n o t only foiled initially to galvanize th e SBC, b u t even the BBF1, th e issue so n ew to discourse, w hfie SBC conservatives w ere able to add w ording to a 1976 resolution th at discouraged abortion, the m ajority reiterated for th e th ird tim e in six years freedom of conscience. Even the BBF1 rem ain ed largely silent. Similarly, for m ost S outhern Baptists other h ead lin es overshadow ed hom osexuality.11 W hile an SBC resolution for th e first tim e declared hom osexuality “co n trary to biblical tro th , ״the affiliation defeated a h arsh er condem natio n w hile th e BBF1 avoided the m atter as a private, n o t public, sin. Foils, m eanw hile, indicated th at w hile resistance to the Equal Rights A m endm e n t (ERA) paralleled church atten d an ce in the South, the resiliency o f anti-croedal sen tim en t en su red division am ong S outhern Baptists.12 W hile Falwell saw opportunity for publicity in all these issues, his
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fledging m in istry rem ain ed in debt and, by 1976, oniy recen tly em erged from litigation an d g overnm ent oversight. Even as h e began to envision “a holy w ar for th e survival of the fam ily ״th at w ould stren g th en conservatives aeross all Baptist associations, he recognized c o n ^ v a tiv e s had not y et gained enough stren g th .13
The Emergence of Carter If p residential candidate C arter h oped to avoid the em erging controversy w ithin his ow n den o m ination in 1976, his deft m aneuvering h e lp e d —as did fate, w h e n the Washington Post detailed in a M arch story his “b o rn again ״experience, an explosion of national coverage resulted, C arter later estim ating th at m ore th a n one h u n d re d articles h ad explored his S outhern Baptist faith. R eporters now spoke of the “religious issue, ״and, by th e en d of 1976, Newsweek m agazine had declared th e “Year of the E vangelical.^ ״ C arter h an d led the new “religious issu e ״well overall, th e one exception an acknow ledgem ent to Playboy m agazine th at he h ad “com m itted ad u ltery in m y h e a rt m an y tim es. ^ ״y i n g to reiterate C hrist's teachings against pride, C arter stated th at no m an should consider h im self b e tte r “because one guy screw s a w hole b u n ch of w om en w hile an o th er guy is loyal to his wife. ^ ״w h ile the statem en t reflected w ^l-established Baptist doctrine th at all m e n w ere sinful, the explicit language shocked m an y Baptists and o p en ed an o p portunity for m ore conservative m em bers. T he pastor of the SBC's largest congregation declared h im self “highly offended, ״the co m m ents “anim al th in k in g .16״ Moving swiftly for the publicity, Falwell pounced in a series of serm ons titled “Sword of the Lord." This, Falwell th e n claim ed, caused the C arter cam paign to th rea ten retribution w ith “an u ltim a tu m . ״w h e n the cam paign d enied the charge and m an y stations refused to air Falwell's com m ents, fearing a violation of th e Federal C om m unication Commission's (FCC) Fairness Doctrine, Falwell responded w ith a press conference at th e N ational Fress club. “1 brought in som e big guns, ״Falwell recalled of the conservative B aptists—from b o th the SBC and the BBFI— who surro u n d ed h im .17 T he Playboy in cid en t was the first public rift b etw e en C arter and Falwell, and, in m an y respects, the m ost public evidence to date of the
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n ew rift b etw een m ed erate and conservative Baptists. T he interview , however, h ad no lasting im pact on C arter's ability to rally a m ajority of th e faith across th e various associations, w h ile m an y Baptists thought C arter's rem ark s reprehensible, Falwell recognized th a t others saw th em as a "sign o f h o n esty in the wake of W atergate.׳٨® In reality, m an y Baptists em braced C arter for no o th er reason th an the press he b ro ught to th e ir faith. C arter's public professions w ere sim ply “w itnessing his faith in Christ," one Baptist explained adm iringly, w ith m an y critics un fair to com plain. “T hem is a growing re se n tm e n t am ong S outhern Baptists over the w ay Jim m y C arter is being treated by som e of the secular m edia," reported C hñstianity Tbday.19 If som e conservatives in associations such as the BBFI quietly harbored doubts about C arter's personal theology, th ey could no t ignore his im pact. “Every indication is th at evangelicalism is skyrocketing," n oted one observer. C arter was b o rn again. T hey w ere b o rn again. It was, quite literally, an easy leap of faith.20 Despite his am bitions, even Falwell w ondered. C arter was a “good m oral m an," h e concluded, and his im pact helpful. “1 felt nervous about h im th ro u g h o u t m u ch of the cam paign, fearing th at he rep resen ted m oderates in th e SBC," Falwell recalled, reflecting his close association. “N evertheless, th e congregation did not share m y doubts" w ith “alm ost two-thirds" of th e m ost doctrinaire conservatives in the BBFI supporters. Seeking to take advantage o fth e m om entum , Falwell shifted strategy and dow nplayed his differences in m usical rallies dubbed “1 Love Am erica." “C arter rem ain ed popular," Falwell explained, “so th ere probably w asn't a single rally th a t we criticized h im .2*״ C arter also dow nplayed the differences betw een m oderate and conservatives, prom ising to convene a w h ite House conference on the family if elected, som ething all Baptists welcom ed. Carter's hom age to the family, one author noted, was som ething “that Jerry Faiweil could have w ritten .22 ״w h e n it cam e to the specifics of abortion and hom osexuality, however, C arter rem ained vague, only his support for ERA unequivocal. “Carter used language th at w ould ring beils of recognition in diverse religious groups," biographer Betty Glad concluded, hinting at tim es o fa literal biblical interpretation while at others quoting Kierkegaard and Barth. On the one hand, for example, he w on the endorsem ent of Richard Neuhaus, a cham pion of religious orthodoxy who defined abortion and hom osexuality
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as “evil· ״Carter pubiicly acknowledged hom osexuality as a sin, while his cam paign declared him “uncom fortable w ith it for personal reasons.^״ On the other hand, however, C arter appointed M argaret Costanza, an outspoken supporter of gay rights, to his cam paign staff while “opposing all forms of discrim ination on the basis of sexual o ^ n t a t i o n . ״It was sim ply hard to pin C arter down, w hile he prom ised to sign Congresswom an Bella Abzug's gay rights bill, he did not lobby for it and, in the Democratic Convention, w orked to defeat a gay rights plank. C arter prom ised w om en th at he “would tear down the walls th at have kept w om en out of the decision-m aking process ״and even encouraged “tough ״and “m ilitant״ advocacy.^ He claim ed to support the Roe decision and appointed a 51.3% Com m ittee to give w om en a voice in the cam paign. At the sam e time, however, he left open the possibility of som e kind of “national statute״ to restrict abortions and supported the Hyde A m endm ent, a proposal to restrict federal funds for abortion services. “Look, I can't change the teachings of C hrist, ״C arter snapped w hen pressed on these issues. “I believe in them , and a lot of people do in this country as w ell.25״ C arter was n ot lying. His vagueness m ay have b e e n good politics, b u t his positions reflected his h o n est in terp retatio n of scripture. All the election-year celebration of his religion m ay have clouded it for m any conservative Baptists, b u t C arter was not one of th eir own. “While C arter was an evangelical, ״b iographer ? e te r B ourne wrote, “h e was not a fundam en talist. ^ ״M elding a degree of existentialism into his S outhern Baptist faith, he encouraged critical reasoning and in terp reted m an y biblical passages as m etaphors. As such, he shied from rigid doctrine, recognized th at good people m ight disagree on m atters of faith, and, accordingly, cherish ed the Baptist tradition of th e separation of church and state. While Falwell h ad dram atically shifted his stance on the role of governm ent, C arter’s interpretation was m ore nuanced. The writings of C hristian philosopher Reinhold N iebuhr represented Carter's “political Bible ״in the words of one author.^ Niebuhr, in Carter's words, was a “great tw entiethcen tu ry theologian ״who “particularly" influenced h im .^ Religion should inform politics, b u t one had to guard against the reverse. G overnm ent m ight reflect strong religious m orals by exam ple to, in N iebuhr's view, “esta b lish ^ stic e in a sinful world," b u t policy m akers had to com e to term s w ith the relativeness of h u m an m oral endeavors. This m ean t that policy
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m akers had to he reahsts, ^ w a y s working to elicit the greatest possible justice w ithout dem anding perfection. Like Falwell and the conservatives, C arter thought abortion and hom osexuality sinful. Like them , he w orried about the A m erican family. Unlike them , however, he believed th at it was not for governm ent to regulate m atters of individual morality. “C arter was willing to struggle w ith the am biguities that exist betw een private views and public policy, ״his Baptist friend Robert Maddox sum m arized. Because of this stand, however, “he ran afoul of m any sincere people who could n o t or w ould not o p i a t e in the m iddle ground.29״
The DÎffieult Balance w h e th e r a product of astute politics or broad-based “bo rn again ״pride, the 1976 election retu rn s showed little evidence of any schism, a victorious Carter w inning m ore southern votes th an any D em ocrat since H arry Trtiman. Carter fared rignificantly b etter am ong elf-d escrib ed evangelicals th an his im m ediate Dem ocratic ^ ^ e c e s s o r s and w on a m ajority of the Southern Baptist votes. The SBC's Broadm an ?ress had even published his cam paign biography.29 In a keynote address before the SBC—w hich he later le d —Bailey Smith was ecstatic. A m erica needed a “born-again m an in the White H ouse . . . and his initials are the sam e as our Lord's. ״Falwell and m em bers of the BBFI largely fell in line, w hile acknowledging th at he m ight have to oppose C arter “if he violates m oral codes in opposition to scripture," Falwell noted. C arter “has m y respect and support." Writing his autobiography in the mid-1980s, Falwell even claim ed to have b ee n instrum ental in C arter's election, the Playboy incident apparently forgotten.2؛ Baptist pride was m ore th an evident. Before the inauguration, a group of Baptists h eld an early-m orning “Feople's Frayer Service" thanking Cod for Carter's faith. A nother group of Baptists proclaim ed a “National Frayer for the Fresident Day." Billy G raham added th at he was “rootin' and tootin'" for Carter. After SBC president Jam es Sullivan sent his congratulations. C arter prom ised th at he would “do m y b est for God."32 Fhil Strickland of the C hristian Lifo C om m ission of the Baptist G eneral C onvention ofThxas advocated th at C arter establish a “form al relationship w ith the religious com m unity," including groups such as the SBC and BBFI, and even offered a list of pro m in ent Baptists. This was not “using the church" b u t m ight prove “critical in the success or failure of adm inistration proposals." The
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adm inistration's form -letter reply was noncom m ittal, b u t Carter noted at the bottom th at he planned “an inauguration prayer service at the Baptist C hurch.” Carter, it appeared, was serious about the separation of church and state or, at least, did not w ant to be perceived as favoring his own denom ination.33 Acting according to his faith w ithout creating political enem ies rem ain ed a difficult balancing act. At his inauguration C arter rejected a quote from the Old ^ s ta m e n tb o o k of C hronicles because he feared th at som e m ight in te rp re t its condem nation of "wicked w ays ״as an em brace of rigid theology, opting instead for the biblical p ro p h et M icah's praise of loving m ercy. D espite C arter's attem p t to insure privacy, daughter A m y's baptism , com plete w ith the Baptist tradition of im m ersion in water, pro m p ted a degree of ridicule. “It's terrible how A m y's b aptism has b e e n played up b y the press," one Baptist w rote.34 w h e n C arter surprised the public by attending W ashington's First Baptist C hurch the first Sunday after his inauguration, Baptists of all stripes cheered. “He is dem onstrating his n eed for instruction from God's Word," said one editorial. “All C hristians should applaud him ." At the sam e tim e, however, a n u m b er of conservative Baptists protested C arter's ap p o in tm en t of a Vatican envoy as a special recognition of one faith. Georgia Baptists signed a petition protesting C arter's ap p o in tm en t of Catholics to the FCC, w orried th at Catholics m ight h in d e r the televised m inistries o fpastors such as Falwell. “Flease appoint an o th e r faith or n o n [sic] at all," the p etition read. “W hat's w rong w ith a S outhern Baptist?3^׳ While Carter undoubtedly felt an obligation to his denom ination, he did not w ant to appear to favor Baptists in policy. Accordingly, he declined an interview with the SBC's Radio and Television C om m ission and refused to com m em orate a new Baptist television studio, w h e n C arter agreed to m eet w ith the SBC's Board of Directors and its Mission Challenge Commission, he did so in the hopes of m aintaining good relations while also ensuring th at the m eetings w ere b rie f and devoid of policy.36
Caught in the Middle C arter's delicate balancing of church and state, however, quickly began to fray w ith the efforts of Falwell and others. In C arter's first year, a form er Miss A m erica, Baptist Anita Bryant, began a w ell-publicized crusade
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against a M iam i gay-rights ordinance. Recognizing an opportunity, Falwell invited B ryant to speak to his congregation, ap p ear on his televised Old Tim e Gospel Hour, and coordinate a ratty at the M iam i Beach Convention Center. Given Falwell's publicity, a wave of n ew b attles against gay rights ordinances across the country en su red hom osexuality front-page new s. At Falwell's urging, B ryant began to criticize C arter's silence.^ W hile C arter h o ped the issue w ould recede, his aide Costanza fanned the flam es b y inviting m em bers of the Gay and Lesbian Tftsk Force to the W hite House. C arter did no t atten d and did nothing to advance congressional gay rights legislation, prom pting th e frustrated gay activist H arvey Milk to co u n ter th at it was “open season on gay people." In short, C arter's in action m ade h im a foil for b o th sides.38 Fressing ahead, Falwell found another key ally in the ERA'S chief opponent, the anti-fem inist Fhyllis Schlafly. Now m irroring Schlafly's rhetoric, Falwell declared, “M any w om en have never accepted their God-given roles." Schlafly engineered the “state-by-state efforts" to defeat ratification, Falwell claimed, “b u t we offered all of our resources." Schlafly was “the quarterback while we carried the ball." Faralleling his praise of Schlafly, Falwell denounced the fem inists that C arter appointed. Bella Abzug, for one, “was a joke." Falwell's growing publicity led other conservative Baptists to join the fray, evangelist Jam es Robison term ing Carter's advisors “the counsel of the ungodly.3®״ C arter was caught in the middle, his balance lost. A fter Costanza organized a p rotest of w om en against C arter's support of the H yde A m endm ent, th e w h ite H ouse forced Costanza's resignation. This “didn't w in h im su p p o rt am ong conservative Baptists," Falwell recalled, as C arter fought to extend the deadline for ERA ratification and appointed liberals to th e U nited Natfofrs In tern atio n al W om en's Year C onference. Moreover, to replace Costanza, C arter selected Sarah W eddington, fam ous for h e r successful litigation in Roe. By 1978, Falwell had b egun to jo in conservative Baptists decrying “secular hum anism " in schools, recognizing in th e words of one apologist th e “dangerous influences" of “evolution as fact and th e absence of p ray er in cu rricu lu m . ^״Criticizing the “liberal educational sy stem ,” Falwell described C arter's D ep artm en t of Education as a “huge b u reau cracy th a t takes control out of local school districts and m oves ft to W ashington w here the liberals control it.41״
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Falwell was on the leading edge of com bining ERA, the Roe decision, and gay rights as "laws contrary to the traditional A m erican family . . . threatened as never before in the history of the nation ."٠As if to give w ind to Falwell's sails, Carter's White House Conference on Families broke down from the start on w hether a family included single m others and gay couples. As the adm inistration delayed the conference until 1980, Falwell protested a lack ofpro-life m em bers on the conference's advisory com m ittee and “an agenda to sanction homosexuality, expand day care, create new governm ent program s to regulate families, and ensure federal funding for abortion." These “anti-family forces” had to be defeated.^* Falwell's publicity paid dividends. As Carter's polling num bers declined, conservative strength soared. The National Council of C hurches (NCC) reported in its 1977 annual survey, “The m ost conservative churches . . . reported the biggest gains," w ith the BBFI at the fore. “Christianity now has a m oral backbone," applauded one conservative B aptist.44 Falwell's new Liberty Baptist College enrolled a thousand freshm en in 1978 and enjoyed a c o ^ fru c tio n and fhnd-raisingboom , raising $7 m illion on “Miracle Day." W hen the Israeli and Egyptian governm ents invited Falwell to the Middle East, the m agazine Esquire described him as the “next Billy C raham .^״ Fredictably, upon returning, Falwell com plained to the press th at Carter's staff “never asked us to com e and b rief them ." After C arter refused to help a Baptist charity Falwell's m inistry sponsored, Falwell com plained to conservative allies th at Carter had dism issed his own denom ination.46 Working to m axim ize his publicity, Falwell began in 1978 to lure c o n e v a tiv e s from o ther denom inations to his Baptist political base. W hen th e 1RS codified the integration standards necessary for private school tax exem ptions, Falwell lobbied o th er religious leaders th at C arter “was now seeking to control C hristian schools." T he SBC and the BBFI jo in tly com plained to Carter, “Your in terv en tio n in this m atter w ould be greatly appreciated." W ith the adm inistration dism issive, Congress recognized th e u n ited religious opposition and passed legislation denying funding for im p lem en tatio n .47 W hen the ^ m in istra tio n opposed Cahfornia's Briggs Initiative, ban n in g hom osexual teachers, Falwell reached out again. With every Carter initiative, Falwell saw publicity. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 outlawed discrim ination against private, non-job related behavior,
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arguably supporting the rights of hom osexuals. New im m igration polieies the adm inistration im plem ented no longer autom atically excluded hom osexuals. The ultim ate defeat of the Briggs Initiative and the subsequent assassination of its greatest opponent, H arvey Milk, constituted “a judgm en t from God. ﺀ*״With the Hyde am en d m en t now an annual appropriations battle m ^astasized to an array of departm ents, Falwell cultivated a “close friendship ״w ith anti-abortion advocate Francis Schaeffer, leader of an orthodox resurgence in the Fresbyterian C hurch.^ Tb cultivate conservative alliances, Falwell now w orked to curb historic anim osities m any Baptists still held against Jew s and Catholics. W hereas earlier he had referred to Jew s as “spiritually blind, ״he now called th em “God's people. ^״Carter's Cam p Havid Accords inadequately protected Israel, Falwell now insisted. “T here's not going to be any peace." Falwell applauded w hen the Second Vatican Council em phasized interchurch relations, and w hen the C tholic-B aptist Ecum enical Institute form ed from conservatives i n b o ^ faiths. “We have begun to develop som e unity," a conservative Southern Baptist colleague ofFalw ell's applauded.^ Increasingly Falwell received positive press, his 1978 “Clean Up Am erica" cam paign visiting alm ost 150 cities w hile draw ing 12,000 to W ashington. A successful voter registration drive “urged the religious right to be counted." W ith his salary doubled, Falwell now flew in a m inistry-ow ned Je t C om m ander. He was not, however, the lone beneficiary. The SBC's drift rightw ard had gained the denom ination m ore th an 113,000 new m em b ers.^ M oderates w atched w hh concern as C arter continued to w alk the th in line of ch u rch and state, declining an invitation to atten d the SBC convention b u t issuing a w elcom ing statem ent, prom ising “to h elp raise funds" for m ission w ork b u t prohibiting events at the w h ite House. Obviously aw are of C arter's predicam ent, Dallas's c liff Tem ple Baptist C hurch invited h im to speak, adding th a t its congregation “was n o t insufferably R epublican. ״C arter tactfully declined. D espite treading carefully. C arter could n o t avoid all criticism , w h e n C arter declined to greet one Baptist who h ad craw led to W ashington in an act of penance, one conservative wrote, “You could no t take five m in u tes to m ee t w ith a fellow B aptist. ^״A n o ther conservative no ted his “grave disappointm ent" over C arter's “opposition to [the Briggs Initiative] so strongly supported by
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fellow B aptists. ״A fter C arter denied reports th at he w ould appear w ith Anita B ryant at a S outhern Baptist eonvention, e o n e rv a tiv e s sarcastically replied b y giving h e r appearanee a trem en d o u s ro u n d of applause.^ T he critieism was greatest w hen Dallas' ABC affiliate deeided in early 1979 to drop the Baptist Jam es Robison's television program after he elaim ed on air th at hom osexuals recruited children. Organizing a conservative protest at the Dallas C onvention C enter that crossed aso c ia tio n a l and denom inational lines, Robison invited Falwell to speak. Arguing th at stations "could not censor the content of sermons," Falwell im plied that pressure from the w h ite House prom pted the move. In an accom panying m arch staged by the SBC's largest congregation, the crowd com plained as m uch about C arter as the station, w h e n the station relented, it was off the hook; Carter, however, could not so easily disassociate.^ Working to m en d relations w ith m an y S outhern Baptists, C arter appointed the C eorgia m oderate Robert Maddox as his religious liaison and w orked closely w ith a leading m oderate at the SBC, Jim m y A lle n d In early 1979 A llen w arned C arter th at SBC conservatives m ight pass a resolution opposing ratification of the Strategic A rm s Lim itation Thlks ^ e a ty . A llen prom ised to lobby for SALT and suggested th at C arter gain the su p p o rt of Billy C raham . N oting the rift w ithin the SBC, the D epartm en t of state added th at "energetic progressives am ong the S outhern Baptists" still su p p o rted SALT b u t th at the problem was shifting sentim en t "within th e [Baptist] m ain strea m . و ״C arter rem ain ed uncom fortable w ith m an y o f th ese efforts and, ultim ately, C raham coyly avoided a direct en d o rsem en t o f SALT.
The New Reality In Ju n e 1979 the rift w ithin the SBC exploded at its annual convention w here, according to one report, a 'battle erupted w ith lines draw n according to one's interpretation of scriptural inerrancy." It began w ith "preconvention politicking" and ended w ith hard feelings. "[Conservatives] m ay be as orthodox as Feter," com plained one Louisiana m oderate, b u t they are as m ean as the devil." Fraising "conservative, Bible-believing congregations . . . th at believe in the inerrant, infallible word of God," new president Adrian Rogers began to purge m oderates from denom inational offices. ״The Baptist tradition of defending the autonom y of the church from the
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state and tire state from the church was a casualty of the o n s e rv a tiv e takeover/ ׳author Randall Balm er w rote.58 w ith in weeks, Wake Forest Unlversity broke its relationship w ith the N orth Carolina Baptist State Convention, w hich had grown too conservative for the university, w h e n Carter invited Rogers to the Oval Office, the m eeting was cordial b u t tense. "I hope you will give up your secular h u m an ism , ״Rogers adm onished.^ Again recognizing opportunity, Falwell form ed a new organization, the Moral Majority, to lobby for “ttaditional family values, ״a m oniker that Falwell ensured opposed fem inism in general and, while at least claim ing nonpartisanship, Carter in particular, w h ile Baptists held the m ost board seats, the organization represented a n u m b er o ^ ro te s ta n t groups and even sought to include Catholics, nam ing one the editor of the Moral Majority Report. W hen one BBFl-affiliated congregation com plained th at Falwell had abandoned the task of w inning souls for the one true Baptist faith in favor of politics, Falwell replied that the Bible encouraged diverse groups working together to please God. Republican rtrategist Paul Weyrich, m eanwhile, cited polls that indicated m ost conservative Protestants w elcom ed the n ew association despite its prevalence O ^ a p tis ts .88 H eadlines blared the new theological reality: "Methodists Grope for a C om m on C enter ״and "Rumble of Realignm ent in P r ^ y te r ia n is m .״ Even in the Episcopal C hurch conservatives pressed for a m ore doctrinaire alternative, the Episcopal Catholic Church.^ Donations poured into Falwell's new organization, w hich protested w hen C arter opposed the Family Protection Act, designed, in Falwell's words, to "counteract disruptive federal in tervention into fam ily life. ״Carter understood the implications as well as Falwell: federal restrictions on abortions and gay rights.^ In the W hite House, religious liaison Maddox convinced C arter to m eet w ith a group of conservative m inisters in Jan u ary 1980, hoping to m ute th eir criticism. After recording the m eeting, Maddox realized th at Falwell had since b ee n m isrepresenting Carter's com m ents. Falwell claim ed to have asked C arter w hy he allowed "^acticin g hom osexuals״ on his staff, to w hich Carter had supposedly answ ered th at his job was to "represent everyone. ״Tb this, Falwell quoted him self, "1 said w hy don't you have m urderers and b ank robbers and so forth?" In fact, Maddox's recording indicated, no such exchange had taken place. Falwell was lying.88 Maddox contacted several new spapers and appeared on ABC's new s
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program 20/20. Caught offguard, Falwell refused interviews, his spokesm an stating, "He is w ith his f a m i l y . S o o n , however, Falwell declared his com m ents an "anecdote ״that accurately reflected Carter's position on gay rights. A ttem ptingto rally conservatives, he suggested that C arter supported the "homosexual lifestyle ״and had allowed gays to place a w reath on the ^ m b of the U nknow n Soldier. In reply, Maddox argued th at C arter did not sanction hom osexuality b u t recognized civil rights while Baptist ally Allen rem inded the press of the Baptist tradition of the separation of church and state. In the end, the public spat w idened the rift betw een co n se ^ativ es and m oderates, the latter enjoying the irony of a m an arguing for a literal interpretation of scripture em ploying "anecdotes.65״
Divide and Conquer The fireworks h ad only ju st beg u n in the election y ear of 1و80 مThe extension granted the ratification period for ERA and C arter's long-aw aited W hite House C onference on Fam ilies assured the issues of fem inism , abortion, and gay rights continued prom inence, w h ile Falwell did not directly ^ r t i c i p a te —saying, "my application probably w ould have b ee n rejected— ״he n o ted sarcastically th at the conference title had changed from "family" to "families," a shift th at im plied diversity. Finally held as a series of four regional conferences, several dem onstrated ju st how hostile the debate had becom e. Conservatives, now organized as the N ational FroFamily Coalition, staged a w alkout in two sessions while also organizing a co u n ter conference term ed the A m erican Fam ily Forum. Falwell hosted organizers of this forum , utilized Moral M ajority resources, and was a keynote speaker, C arter rem aining his chief object of scorn.66 At the sam e time, th e an n u al conference of the SBC consolidated its conservatism b y electing Bailey Sm ith to replace Rogers as presiden t and passing a résolution to "preserve th e doctrinal integrity" of its institutions. Mom notably, the delegates strongly denounced the ERA and approved a resolution supporting the anti-abortion "hum an life am endm ent" to the constitution. T hey also w rote C arter th at the "Biblical definition of fam ily [should] be affirm ed as the only adequate definition. ״As this saga unfolded, several large BBF1 congregations jo in ed the now m ore conservative SBC. "This swing to the right," Maddox w rote his superiors, "causes m e concern. ص׳ Again m oving to diffhse tensions, C arter invited not only Smith to the
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White House b u t also ex-president Rogers and his wife. The m eeting was onee again polite b u t uncom fortable. “1 am ong m any Southern Baptists and o th er Christians I know are very interested in understanding your viewpoints concerning w om en, ״Rogers' wife Joyce wrote C arter afterwards. ״It is difficult, however, working through the m edia to gain proper insights.“״ Sm ith proved m om of a wedge to divide Baptists th a n Rogers. “God does n o t h e a r the prayers of a Jew," Sm ith rem ark ed to the Religious Roundtable, a n ew lobby to prom ote an alliance of c o n s e ^ a tiv e Christians. While th e rem arks re p rese n te d Baptist theology th a t b elief in C hrist was necessary, th ey provoked outrage. A fter first suggesting “th e byline cam e from th e w h ite House," Falwell stated th at w hile God h ea rd the prayers, “1 do n o t believe th at God answ ers th e p ray er of any u n re d eem e d Gentile or Jew." w h e n th e press rep o rted th a t h e h ad agreed w ith Bailey, Falwell's parsing of language allow ed h im to take the offensive, claim ing th a t “th e liberal m edia" h ad intentionally m isquoted h im .69 w h ile Falwell quietly w orked to repair any dam ages to his Jew ish outreach, th e C arter re-election cam paign ra n television ads th at rep eated the m isquote. The M oral Maj'ority filed a defam ation suit, and the cam paign pulled th e ad adm itting th at ft was “not 1 0 م% accurate." Falwell, having tu rn e d a public relations debacle into political capital, w ithdrew the suit.70 Bailey was not the only one speaking to the Religious Roundtable. C arter's challenger. Republican Ronald Reagan, thrilled the crowd. “You can 't endorse me," he rem arked, “b u t 1 endorse y o u ."7لA fter Reagan n o ted the th rea t abortion and gay rights posed to the family, Falwell had his cham pion, tt appeared an odd political m arriage, however, for Reagan was n o t a Baptist, was divorced, and h ad n ev er atten d ed church regularly. N evertheless, in th e words of one observer, “Reagan played to the evangelical com m unity." In the view of another, Reagan saw Falwell as a tool to drive a wedge b etw e en S outhern Baptists and the D em ocratic Farty. If Reagan's rhetoric w ere calculated, it w orked. M em bers of the M oral M afority v o lunteered tim e and m o n ey .77 Now working closely w ith the Reagan cam paign, Falwell shared m ailing lists w ith Richard Viguerie, know n for his Republican fundraising. Reagan, Falwell stated, did an “exceptional job" speaking before the National Religious Broadcasters and the Moral M ^ority while cam paign staffers distributed “Christians for Reagan" b u m p er stickers. This cam paign
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lobby, also led b y a conservative Baptist, had fliers declaring that Carter was “afraid of offending the ERA crowd b u t not of turning his back on God. ^״As the cam paign proceeded, the Moral Majority's Robert Billings jo ined the Reagan cam paign, in the words of Falwell “to open doors to the [conservative] evangelical com m unity." Finally, late in the cam paign, Reagan invited Falwell to a New O rleans speech. There, Falwell proudly recalled, the two “prayed together.74״ Soon ru m o rs spread am ong Baptists. Wrote one pastor, C arter “h ad becom e very cold ״w ith leaders of the SBC w hile Maddox “w anted nothing to do w ith conservative Baptists. ״For m an y conservatives th e evidence was plain. A fter the w h ite H ouse denied an SBC req u est for a taped greeting to h o n o r its new p resid en t Rogers and rejected a “special VIP to u r ״for a group of BBFI-affiliated Baptists, C arter agreed to accept an aw ard from m oderate Baptists in an Oval Office cerem ony, w h e n the SBC forw arded a list of resolutions, the discrepancy betw een C arter's stances on the “fam ily issues ״an d those of the SBC w ere obvious, if n ot the growing anim osity b etw een the tw o.75
The Aftermath After Reagan's victory in 1980, Falwell claim ed that his Moral M ajority had proved a “sleeping giant" and th at elected officials should “get in step w ith conservative values or be prepared to be unem ployed." While in fact the landslide was such that the “family issues" were not determ inative, the Republicans had w on the South—the SBC and BBFI's b ase—for the first tim e since Reconstruction. Falwell had successfully encouraged a conservative theology across denom inational lines and m arried the new unity to the GOP, w ith conservative Baptists at the fore.76 His efforts playing off Carter had proved crucial. In the years th at followed, Falwell's star began to wane, his Moral M ajority finally ending operations in the late 1980s. The alliance h e encouraged, however, endured. In 2008 a Southern Baptist preacher, M ichael Huckabee, ran for the Republican presidential nom ination. W ithin the SBC, conservative theology continued its dom inance, welcoming w ith zest new battles over fem inism , hom osexuality, and abortion. It also w elcom ed Falwell's Thom as Road Baptist Church, w hich officially joined the SBC as if an accolade for its theological drift.77 M oderate Baptists continued as well, of course, ultim ately
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w elcom ing one of th eir ow n as president. D em ocrat Bill Clinton. After C arter's defeat, W ashington's First Baptist C hurch w rote of its "love and prayerftrl support." Led b y a m oderate, th e S outhern Baptist Theological Sem inary invited C arter to teach w hile Jim m y A llen sen t his friend a le tte r o f condolence. "There is still m u ch to be done," C arter replied.™ C arter was not kidding. Free from political constraints. C arter denounced the differences that divided his faith, especially "thejudgm ental attitudes prom oted by a few demagogic political leaders." C ondem ning others "was n ever Jesus' way." The efforts of conservative Georgia Baptists in 2004 to rem ove evolution from schools w ere an "em barrassm ent." Such outspokenness enraged his old opponents. W hen Carter described Israel's treatm en t of Falestinians as "apartheid," Falwell thought it a sin. W hen C arter w on the Nobel Feace Frize for his "outstanding com m itm ent to h u m an rights," Falwell com plained th at Carter's version m ean t "the slaughter of un born children and the sin of hom osexuality.™״ Tfen m onths into the new m illennium , in October 2000, Carter renounced his m em bership in the SBC, becom ing in the words of one report, "an enlistee in the national public relations w ar betw een m oderate and conservative Southern Baptists." "My fellow Baptists," Carter explained, "I have b een disappointed and feel excluded by the adoption of an increasingly rigid creed.؟؛״° The following year, in the sum m er of 2001, Carter called for a new alliance for the growing num ber of m oderate state conventions. M oderates had form ed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1090, b u t C arter thought a broader alliance of m oderates possible. Tb the SBC, Carter's call was a " ^ b lic ity stunt" and the form er president was "out of step w ith the m ajority ofS outhern Baptists." Nevertheless, in Tfexas at least, m oderates continued to coalesce, incorporating in 2002 as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ofTfexas.81״ "Some C hristians R eluctant to Share One Cup," blared th e Dallas M orning News in 2002. T he new spaper was not referring to C arter and Falwell, b u t th e quote applied. "Carter w ouldn't even speak to me," Falwell recalled th at y ea r w h e n th eir paths crossed. For Falwell's part, th e feeling was m utual. "[Carter] w ants to be th e b est form er presid en t ever, b u t h e's b e e n a disaster at th at too." T he chasm b etw een two of the n ation's m ost fam ous Baptists was w ider th a n ever, w h e n Falwell died in 2007, a n u m b er of conservative Baptists eulogized tom w hile C arter
A Tale o f Two Baptists: Jim m y Carter and Jerry Falwell
rem ain ed silent, th e m utual anim esity carried to the grave.82 In the end, C arter an d Falwell indeed refused to share the sam e cup, b u t th eir decades-long public dispute had long since h elped shape and encourage th e great divide th at characterizes m o d ern S outhern Baptists to this day. T he C arter years w ere the crucial years in defining the struggle over the “fam ily issu es ״o f fem inism , abortion and hom osexuality. T he p resident an d th e fam ed p re a c h e r—w ith m u ch publicity—h ad led the way. BH&HS 1. Exit Interview, Jimmy and Resalynn Carter, Natienal Park Serviee (NPS) Interviews, 2, 133; 1, 12, Jimmy Carter Library (JCL), Atlanta, GA: Jerry Falwell, interview by author, July 24, 2003; Quoted in William R. Coodman, Jr. and James j. H. Prtee, Jerry Falwell: An Unauthorized Profile (Lynehburg, VA: Paris and Associates, 1981), 109-110. 2. For recent studies tracing the broad and early roots of the modern Christian Right, along with the issue of race in Its development, see Dan Williams's God's Own Party (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), Darren Dochuk's From Bible Belt to Sun Belt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism (New York: Norton, 2010), Barry Hankins's Jesus and Gin: Evangelicalism, The Roaring Twenties, and Today's Culture Wars (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), and Bethney Moreton’s To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000), the latter particularly strong on "family values." For a description of the role of grassroots activists in denominational evolution, see Nancy Ammerman, "American Evangelicals in American Culture: Continuity and change" in Steven Brint and Jean Schroedel, Evangelicals and Democracy in America (New York: Russel Sage, 2009). For a full discussion of Carter, see j. Brooks Flippen, Jimmy Carter, the Politics ofFamily, and the Rise ofthe Religious Right (Athens: University of Georgia Pres, 2011). 3. See Billy Hamm, "An Analysis of the Evangelist Impact of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International" (unpublished diss.. Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2010). 4. Bill Leonard, “Independent Baptists: From Sectarian Minority to Moral Mafority," Church History 56, no. 4 (198?): 504-17; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003. 5. Exit Interview, Carter, NPS Interviews, I, 310-11, JCL; Quoted in Susan Friend Harding, The Book ofjerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics (Princeton.: Princeton University Press, 2000), 21-22; Jerry Falwell, Strength for the Journey: An Autobiography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987), 290, 337. 6. 370 U.S. 421 (1962); Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Stan Hastey and Warner Ragsdale, "Right Religion, Right Politics?, ׳׳Home Missions, 51 (October 1978): 68-69; Robert Zweir, Born-Again Politics: The New Christian Right in Ameñca (Downers Grove, IL: InterVaristy Press, 1982), 26; 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm comparison.asp, accessed February 2, 2011. 7. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Duane Murray Oldfield, The Right and the Righteous: The Christian Right Confronts the Republican Party (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 1996), 56; David Harrington Watt, A Transforming Faith: Explorations of Jlventieth-Century American Evangelism (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1991), 85; Shoemaker quoted in New York Times, June 15, 1975, IV, 17; Jerry Falwell, Listen Ameñca! (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980), 121. 8. Quoted in New York Times, August 22, 1975, 31. 9. 1 Corinthians 6:10; Conservatives argued that biblical condemnations included "abominations" (Lev. 18:22), "lusts" (Rom. 1:24), "wicked" (Gen. 13:13), "vile affections" and “against nature" (Rom. 1:26), "unseemly" (Rom. 1:27), "strange flesh" (Jude 7), "reprobate
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mind ) ״Rom. 1:28), and ״dogs) ״Deut. 23:18); Diane stiver. The New Civil War: The Lesbian and Gay Struggle for Civil Rights (New York: Franklin Watts, 1997), 59-60; Ephesians 5:23-33; Quoted in New York Times, February 7, 1975 , 37 . -Quoted in Randall Balmer, God in the white House: How Faith Shaped the Presi .10 dency from John F. Kennedy ؛٠ George w. Bush (New York: Harper Collins, 2008(, 95 . New York Times, June 18, 1976, 11; Dobson quoted in Balmer, God in the white .11 House, 99; Falwell, interview, July 24 , 2003 . New York Times, June 16, 1976, 11; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; K. ^ d in .12, ״Religious ?reference and ?ro/Anti-Activism on the Equal Rights Amendment Issue ,״ :Pacific Sociological Review 21, no. 1 (1978): 55-65; D. Brady and K. ^ d in , “Ladies in Pink Religion and Folitieal Ideology in the Anti-ERA Movement, ״Social Science Quarterly, 56 ) 1976(: 564-75. Mark Lloyd, Pioneers of Prime Time Religion: Jerry Falwell, Rex Humbard, Oral .13 .Roberts (Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 1988), 21-2^; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 327; j. E Gilbert, “Ballot Salvation , ״Journal of Popular Culture 18, no . 1 ) 1984(: 2-3. -Washington Post, March 21, 1976, 7; Jules Witcover, Marathon: Pursuit ofthe Presi .14 dency, 1972-1976 (New York: Viking, 1977), 287-89; Betty Glad, Jimmy Carter: In Search ofthe Great White (New York: W.W. Norton, 1980), 331; New York Times, March 12 , 1976, 41; June 17, 1976, 35; Newsweek, cover story, (October 25 , 1976(. 15. ״The Playboy Interview: Jimmy Carter," Playboy 23, no. 11 (November 1976(: 63-86. Criswell quoted in William Martin, With God on Our Side: The Rise ofthe Religious .16 Right in America (New York: Broadway Books, 1996), 158 and New York Times, October 11, 1976, 1. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Christianity Tbday 21, no. 4 (November .17 19, 1976(: 48 . Falwell, interview, July .18 24 , 2003. Glad, Jimmy Carter, 188-89, 331-32; New York .19 رح -August 1, 1976, IV, 9; Chris tianity Tbday 20, no. 14 (April 9, 1976): 31; 20, no. 19 (June 18, 1976(: 32 . ,Christianity Tbday 20, no. 12 (March 12, 1976): 4; Quoted in New York Times .20 April 11, 1976, 4 . Falwell, interview, July .21 24 , 2003 . Perry Deanne Young, God's Bullies: Native Reflections on Preachers and Politics .22 New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston(, 1982(, 26 . Glad, Jimmy Carter, 286; Neuhaus quoted in Curtis Mitchell, Billy Graham: Saint .23 ,or Sinner? (Old Tàppan, NJ: F H. Revel, 1979), 31; Robert Hawley, letter to Jean O'Leary October 4, 1976, Folder ״Gays, Jimmy Carter On, 3/76-3/77 (O/A 4499(, 03/1976-03/1977 ,״ Box 22, Seymour Wishman Files, Office of Public Liaison (OPL) Files, white House staff .Office Files (WHSF), JCL -Carter quoted in Campaign Press Release, April, 1976, Folder "Gay Rights: Publi .24 cations, 3/75-1/78 (O/A 5771(, 03/1975-01/1978 , ״,Box 4, Margaret Costanza Files, OPL WHSF, JCL; Didley Clendinen and Adam Nagourney, Out for The Struggle for a Gay Rights Movement in Amenca (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999), 277; Carter quoted in Emily Walker Cook, ״-Women white House Advisors in the Carter Administration: Presi dential Stalwarts or Feminist Activists) ״Unpublished diss., Vanderbilt University , 1995(, :and in Susan Hartmann, in Gary Fink and Hugh Davis Graham, The Carter Presidency 14 Policy Choices in the Post-New Deal Era (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1998(, 224; Ethel Klein, Gender Polices: From Consciousness ؛٠ Mass Politics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), 25; New York Times, August 28, 1976, 13. :Martin Schram, Running for President, 1976: The Carter Campaign (New York .25 Stein and Day, 1977), 11; Quoted in “The Playboy Interview: Jimmy Carter," 84 .
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26. ?eter G. Bourne, Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains ؛٠ Postpresidency (New York; Schribner, 1977), 467; see ^lso Gary M. Fink, Prelude ؛٠ the Presidency: The Political Character and Legislative Leadership Style of Governor Jimmy Carter (Westport, CT: Greenwood Fress, 1980), 8. 27. Fink, Prelude to the Presidency, 191; David Kucharsky, The Man From Plains: The Mind and Spint ofjimmy Carter (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), 23; For more on Carter’s personal faith, see Niels Nielson, Jr., The Religion ofjim m y Carter (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1977); James Hefley and Marti Hefley, The Church That Produced a President: The Remarkable Spmtual Roots ofjim m y Carter (New York: Weyden Books, 1977); Jessyea Gaver, The Faith ofjimmy Carter (New York: Manor Books, 1977); Dan Arial and Cheryl Heekler-Feltz, The Carpenter's Apprentice: The spiritual Biography of Jimmy Carter (Grand Rapids, Ml: Zondervan Publishing, 1996); Carter has written widely on his faith, including Sources ٠/ Strength (New York: Random House, 1977) . 28. Jimmy Carter, Living Faith (New York: Random House, 1996), 110, 25. 29. Robert Maddox, interview by author, December 2, 2009; Robert Maddox, Preacher at the White House (Nashville: Broadman, 1984), 136-37. 30. Congressional Quarterly Guide ؛٠ the 1976 Election Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1977), 23; See Kandy Stroud, How Jimmy Won (New York: William Morrow, 1977); Clendinen and Nagourney, Outfor Good, 283; Glad, Jimmy Carter, 400-405; Schram, Running for President, 361-63; Oran Smith, The Rise of Baptist Republicanism (New York: New York University Press, 1997), 51, 159; Kevin Phillips, Ameñcan Theocracy (New York: Viking, 2006), 185; Jimmy Carter, why Not the Best? (New York: Bantam Books, 1976). 31. Jimmy Allen, interview by author, December 4, 2009; Smith quoted in Martin, With God on Our Side, 157; Falwell quoted in Jerry strober and Ruth ^m czak, Jerry Falwell: Aflame for God (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1979), 179; Jerry Falwell, strength for the Journey, 32. Christianity Tbday 21, no. 9 (February 4, 1977): 51; Prayer for the President, Pledging Prayerful Support to President-Elect Jimmy Carter, National Prayer for the President Day, January 16, 1977, Folder “National Prayer for the President Day, 01/16/197701/16/1977,” Control Number NLC-1005-A1-224, Office of the Chief of staff Files (OCSF), WHSF, JCL; Quoted in John Pollock, Billy Graham: Evangelist to the World (New York: Harper and Row, 1979), 278; William Martin, A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story (New York: William Morrow, 1992), 463; Curtis Mitchell, Billy Graham: Saint ٠٢ Sinner (New York: F. H. Revel, 1979), 271; Jimmy Carter, letter to James Sullivan, February 22, 1977, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, white House Central Files (WHCF), JCL. 33. Phil Strickland, memo to Jimmy Carter, December 3, 1976, Folder “(Christian Life Commission), 2/16/77-9/23/77, 02/16/1977-09/23/1977; Landon Butler Files, Control Number NLC-1005-B2-1088, OCSF, WHSF, JCL; Jimmy Carter, letter to Phil Strickland, December 17, 1976, Folder “(Christian Life Commission), 2/16/77-9/23/77, 02/16/197709/23/1977,” Landon Butler Files, Control Number NLC1005-B2-1088., OCSF, WHSF, JCL; Phil Strickland, memo to Laurie Lucey, July 15, 1977, Folder “(Christian Life Commission), 2/16/77-9/23/77, 02/16/1977-09/23/1977,” Landon Butler Files, Control Number NLC1005-B2-1088, OCSF, WHSF, JCL. 34. Jimmy Carter, Keeping Faith, Memoirs of a President (New York: Bantam Books, 1982), 19-20; Quoted in Chñstianity Tbday 21, no. 18 (March 4, 1977): 47. 35. Chñstianity Tbday 21, no. 14 (April 15, 1977): 38; Jimmy Allen, telegraph to President Jimmy Carter, July 7, 1977, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” white House Names Files (WHNF), white House Central Files (WHCF), JCL; Tfed Wayne, et al., letter to President Jimmy Carter, October 2, 1977, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; James Gammill Jr., letter to Gentlemen, October 12, 1977, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL.
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36. Fran Voorde, letter to Porter Routh, February 18, 1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Patricia Yaroch Bario, letter to John c. Stevens, February 28, 1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Fran Voorde, memo to Congressman Jim Wright, April 4,1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Fran Voorde, letter to Porter Routh, April 1, 1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention,״ WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Itinerary, Meeting with Directors, Southern Baptist Convention, May 13, 1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Glendon McCullough, letter to President Jimmy Carter, May 19, 1977, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Itinerary, Meeting with Missions challenge Committee, Southern Baptist Convention, June 7, 1977, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 37. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Bryant quoted in Strober and ^m czak. Aflame 38. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Agenda, N G T F Meeting, March 26, 1977, Folder “National Cay Täsk Force Correspondence, 9/76-2/78 (O/A 4499), 09/1976-02/1978, ״Box 27, Seymour Wishman Files, OPL, WHSF, JCL; Notes of white House NGTF Meeting, Bob Maison, March 26, 1977, Folder "Gay Rights-Civil Rights," Box 7, Robert Maison Files, Domestic Policy Staff Files (DPS), WHSF, JCL; clendinen and Nagourney, Out for Good, 288-89; Lou Romano, "Gays Meet With Carter Aides," Washington Blade, 8, no. 4 (April 1977Y 1. 6; Harvev Milk, letter to Jimmy Carter. Julv 4. 1977. Folder "Harvev Mdk "W H N F WHCF, JCL. 39. Falwell, Listen America!, 150; Gilbert, "Ballot Salvation,4 ;״Fhyllis Schlafly, interview by author, December 4, 2009; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Robison quoted in Life's Answer: The Newsletter ofthe ¡ames Robison Association (December 1980): 2. 40. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Patricia Pingry, Jerry Falwell: Man ٠/ Vision (Carmel, NY: Ideals Publications, 1980), 9. 41. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 369. 42. Falwell, Listen AmericaI, 130; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 359. 43. Falwell, i^erview, July 24, 2003; Falwell, Listen Ameñca!, 133. 44. New York Times, April 29, 1977, 14; September 11, 1977, IV, 7. 45. Strober and ^m czak, Jerry Falwell, 77-79, 82, 167; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Mary Murphy, "The Next Billy Graham, ״Esquire (October 10, 1978): 31-43. 46. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Jerry Falwell, letter to Jimmy Carter, February 1, 1978, Folder "Jerry Falwell", WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Landon Kite, letter to Jerry Falwell, March 2, 1978, Folder "Jerry Falwell, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 47. Falwell, Listen Ameñca!, 131; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Zwier, Born-Again Politics, 26; Landon Kite, letter to James Wood, July 10, 1979, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Zwier, Born-Again Politics, 26. 48. P.L. 95-454; Washington Post, November 8, 1978, 1; Thrner, "Mirror Images, ״in John D’Emilo, William Jhrner and Urvashi Vaid, Creating change: Sexuality, Public Policy and Civil Rights (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008), 11; Clendinen and Nagourney, Out for Good, 389; John Gallagher and Chris Bull, Perfect Enemies: The Religious Right, the Gay Movement and the Politics ofthe 1990s (Darby, PA: Diane Publishing, 1996), 19; Falwell quoted in Strober and ^fomczak, Jerry Falwell, 183. 49. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; See Francis Schaeffer and c. Everett Koop, What Ever Happened ؛٠ the Human Race? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1983) 50. Falwell quoted in John L. Kater, Jr., Chñstians on the Right: The Moral Majoñty in Perspective (New York: Seabury Press, 1982), 79: See Matthew Moen, The Chñstian Right and Congress (Jhscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989), 17. 51. Falwell quoted in Grace Halsell, Prophecy and Politics: The Secret Alliance Between Israel and the U.S. Chñstian Right (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1986), 9-10; New York Times, January 22, 1978, 14; Quoted on March 3, 1978, 8.
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52. Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 256, 358; strober and Tbmczak, Jerry Falwell, 176; Dinesh D'Souza, Falwell Before the Millennium: A Cñtical Biography (Chicago: Regnery Gateway, 89 ,(84 ; ولQuoted in New York Times, June 8, 1980, 25. 53. James Dunn, letter to Fhil Wise, March 5, 1979, Folder ״James Dunn, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Sarah Weddington, memo to Fran Voorde, March 13, 1979, Folder ״James Dunn, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Handwritten Comments on Letter, James Dunn to Tim Craft, March 5, 1979, Folder “James Dunn, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; James Dunn, letter to ?resident Jimmy Carter, December 4, 1978, Folder ״James Dunn, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 54. Robert Hughes, letter to Jimmy Carter, December 7, 1978, Folder ״Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Resolution on California Froposition #6, Southern Baptist General Convention of California, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Landon Kite, letter to Clayton Wells, June 2, 1978, Folder ״Gay Rights Correspondence, 5/76-7/78 (O/A 5771), 05/1976-07/1978, ״OFL, WHSF, JCL. 55. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Martin, With God on Our Side, 199; New York Times, April 1, 1979, 43. 56. Allen, interview, December 4, 2009; Anne Wexler, letter to Jimmy Allen, December 29, 1978, Folder ״Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 57. Bill Ayers, memo to Anne Wexler, March 29,1979, Folder ״Graham, Billy, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 58. Chñstianity Today 23, no. 19 (July 20, 1979): 32; Rogers quoted in New York Times, June 13, 1979, 9; Balmer, God in the white House, 101-103. 59. Chñstianity Today 23, no. 21 (September 7, 1979): 58; Rogers quoted in Bourne, Jimmy Cañer, 467. 60. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 359-62; Martin, With God on Our Side, 200; The Lynchburg meeting included Paul Weyrich, Howard Fhilips, and Robert Billings; Among the Moral Majority's board was noted conservative Fresbyterian evangelist D. James Kennedy; Oldfield, The Right and the Righteous, 101. 61. Chñstianity Today 24, no. 2 (January 25, 1980): 41; 24, no. 8 (April 18, 1980): 22. 62. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Falwell, Listen Ameñca!, 136. 63. Maddox, interview, December 2, 2009; Falwell and Carter quoted in Washington Star, August 23, 1980, B6. 64. Maddox, interview, December 2, 2009; Quoted in Martin, With God on Our Side, 211; Quoted in New York Times, August 8, 1980, 16. 65. Ibid; Allen, interview, December 4, 2009; Washington Star, August 23, 1980, B6; Bourne, Jimmy Cañer, 467; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003. 66. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Maddox, interview, December 2, 2009; See Martin, With God on Our Side, 168-90. 67. Resolutions, Southern Baptist Convention, June 10-12, 1980, St. Louis, Missouri, Folder ״Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Harold Bennett, letter to Jimmy Carter, July 2, 1980, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; New York Times, June 30, 1980, 30; Robert Maddox, memo to Anne Wexler, June 17, 1980, Folder ״Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 68. Memo, Tälking-Points, Meeting with Newly-Elected Officers of SBC, August 7, 1980, Folder ״Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Joyce Rogers, letter to Rosalynn Carter, August 24, 1980, Folder "Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 69. Newsweek (November 10, 1980): 76; Washington Star, October 13, 1980, 4; Washington Post, October 4, 1980, 6; Goodman and Frice, Jerry Falwell, 3, 5-8. 70. Lynchburg News and Daily Advance, October 31, 1980, 1; October 31, 1980, 1; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 375- 76. 71. Reagan quoted in Martin, With God on Our Side, 217; Karen O'Connor, No Neutral Ground? Abortion Politics in an Age ofAbsolutes (Boulder, CO: Westview Fress, 1996), 87.
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72. Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 365; Quoted in Martin, With God on Our Side, 208 2 ; وه־See Sidney Blumenthal, ״The Righteous Empire: A Short History of the End of History and Maybe Even of the GOP, ״New Republic (October 22, 124 -18 :(84 ;وEalwell, interview, July 24, 2003. 73. Richard Viguerie, The New Right: We're Ready ؛٠ Lead (Falls Church, VA: The Viguerie Company, 1980); Quoted in New York Times, August 18, 1980, 11, 7. 74. Goodman and Price, Jerry Falwell, 29, 33; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003. 75. Tbm Lester, letter to Anne Wexler, July 2, 1980, Box 9, Public Relations files, WHSF, JCL; Dewey Burton, letter to Jimmy Carter, August 28, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Ben Chew, letter to Adrian Rogers, September 27, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Carter accepted the SBC's Christian Service in Communications Award; William Junker, letter to Fran Voorde, March 26, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention," WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Robert Dunn, letter to William Junker, April 14, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Resolutions, Southern Baptist Convention, June 10-12, 1980, St. Louis, Missouri, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention, ״WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 76. Quoted in New York Times, November 11, 1980, 11, 2; Tina Rosenberg, “How the Media Made the Moral Majority, ״Washington Monthly (May 1982): 28; Falwell, Strength for the Journey, 365-366; Ruth Murray Brown, For a Christian America: A History ٠/ the Religious Right (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002), 159; O’Connor, No Neutral Ground, 88; Martin, With God on Our Side, 220; Jerome Himmelstein and j. A. McRae, Jr., “Social Conservatism, New Republicans, and the 1980 Election,”Public Opinion Quarterly 48 (1984): 596-605; Seymour Lipset and Earl Raab, “Evangelicals and the Elections," Commentary 71 (1981): 25-31; Arthur Miller and Martin Wattenberg, “Politics from the Pulpit: Religiosity and the 1980 Elections,” Public Opinion Quarterly 48 (1984): 300-12; Mark Pinsky, A Jew Among Evangelicals (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 15. 77. Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Allen, interview, December 4, 2009; D’Sousa, Falwell Before the Millennium, 136-37; Harrell, Pat Robertson, 39; David John Marley, “Ronald Reagan and the splintering of the Religious Right,” The Journal of Church and State 48, no. 4 (Autumn 2006): 851-68. 78. Quoted in New York Times, November 17, 1980, IV, 12; Duke K. McCall, letter to President Jimmy Carter, December 3, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Robert Maddox, letter to Duke McCall, December 17, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL; Jimmy Carter, letter to Jimmy Allen, November 13, 1980, Folder “Southern Baptist Convention,” WHNF, WHCF, JCL. 79. Jimmy Carter, Living Faith, 187; Carter quoted in Dallas Morning News, January 31, 2004, G3; See Jimmy Carter, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007); Dallas Morning News, October 12, 2002, G4; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003. 80. Carter quoted in Dallas Morning News, October 20, 2000, Gl. 81. Quoted in Ibid, July 7, 2001, Gl and January 19, 2002, G2. 82. Ibid, January 12, 2002, Gl; Falwell, interview, July 24, 2003; Associated Press, May 15, 2007.