Parenting and Politics: The Personal and the Political in the Evangelical Family Values Movement

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
Hilde Løvdal Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Cultural Activism ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Billy Graham ◽  
Christian Family ◽  
Conservative Protestants

Today, evangelical Christians in the U.S. are known for their passion for the so-called traditional family and engagement in political and cultural battles over children and child rearing. That has not always been the case. This article examines how parenting became a cultural and political battleground for evangelicals in the last decades of the 20th century. Conservative Protestants have engaged with politics and culture in the past. They supported the Prohibition movement; they opposed Darwin’s theory of evolution; they worried about the decadent culture of the 1920s. In the late 1900s, however, child rearing and parenting became a catch-all framework for all their concerns. Parenting took on new, profound meaning. Preachers like Billy Graham would reject his former notions that he was called to preach, saying he was first and foremost called to father. Evangelical Christian family experts like James Dobson and Larry Christenson linked parenting to social order. Family experts guided evangelicals in their political and cultural activism, telling them that the personal is political and that political issues can be solved one family at a time.

Visual Arts, Representations and Interventions in Contemporary China

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Cultural Activism ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The City

This edited volume provides a multifaceted investigation of the dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China with a focus on unseen representations and urban interventions brought about by the transformations of the urban space and the various problems associated with it. Through a wide range of illuminating case studies, the authors demonstrate how innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on socio-political issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces. The formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their significance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.

Billy Graham

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Christian Music ◽  
American Christianity ◽  
Religious Media ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Billy Graham ◽  
The Cold War

For more than six decades, Billy Graham played a prominent role in shaping Americans’ outlook on the critical religious, political, and cultural issues of the day. By drawing on new sources and by asking new questions of old sources, Billy Graham: American Pilgrim offers groundbreaking accounts of Graham’s storied career. The distinguished contributors offer fresh perspectives on the major changes Graham brought to American Christianity, World Christianity, church and state, the Cold War, race relations, American manhood and family, intellectual life, religious media, Christian relief work, and Christian music. Charting his titanic career provides a many-paned window for viewing the history and character of our present and recent past while also attending to Graham’s personal evolution and complexity on these issues. Yet Graham stayed true to evangelical precepts, as he addressed contemporary questions of religion, politics, and culture, as well as perennial questions of spiritual and daily life, that stretched his tradition to its limits. The volume presents this interplay of change and continuity in the life of Graham as a pilgrimage. But Graham lived his journey on an international stage, influencing the world around him in ways large and small—ways that still echo in today’s religious, political, and cultural arenas.

A Politics of Conversion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curtis J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Family Values ◽  
Sexual Revolution ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Social Vision ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Position ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
Values And Beliefs

This chapter suggests that Billy Graham’s political and social vision is most aptly described as a “politics of conversion,” a means to enlist Christians to participate more actively in changing the nation to reflect their values and beliefs. In his early ministry, Graham offered assessments of social and political issues that put him at odds with any straightforward valorization of America as a chosen nation. Even so, Graham’s growing alarm at the sexual revolution, the “rights revolution,” crime in urban centers, the negative implications of technology, and rapidly growing communism all led him increasingly toward a conservative political position. Graham then was a catalyst in the emergence of a politics of family values, patriotism, and fighting crime that gained enormous support across the country by the late 1960s and laid the religious groundwork for the emerging New Christian Right’s strong opposition to the cultural and social agenda of leftist liberalism.

For love and for life: emotional dynamics at the World Congress of Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Kalm ◽  
Anna Meeuwisse
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Family Values ◽  
World Congress ◽  
Conservative Movement ◽  
The World ◽  
Christian Family ◽  
Positive And Negative Emotions

The article explores the relationship between emotions, collective identity and mobilisation in conservative social movements through an analysis of the World Congress of Families’ (WCF) 13th international conference, held in Verona in March 2019. WCF promotes Christian family values and brings together anti-gay, anti-feminist and anti-abortion activists, religious leaders, and politicians from around the world. We attended the congress and base our analysis on observations and theories on social movements and emotions. Both positive and negative emotions as well as symbols and metaphors were used as building blocks in the emotional work that holds this conservative movement together. In order to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms we show how passive emotions are turned into active, how the differences between ‘us’ and ‘them’ are constructed, and how the combination of positive and negative emotions helps motivate action.

From “Jungles of Terror” to “God Will Begin a Healing in This City”: Billy Graham and Evangelicals on Cities and Suburbs

2020 ◽  
pp. 009614422094004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
White Flight ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Spiritual Renewal ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Billy Graham ◽  
Structural Responses ◽  
Limited Power ◽  
Conservative Protestants

Evangelist Billy Graham spoke to millions in the postwar era when suburban populations swelled and many white Americans, including conservative Protestants, left cities for suburbs. Adding to research on white flight and the suburbanization of religious groups, this study of Graham’s consistent approach to cities and suburbs over six decades demonstrates how conservative Protestants’ individualistic approach to social and spiritual ills contributed to their negative view of cities and justified settling in suburban locations. Graham discussed numerous urban problems and suggested solutions should begin with individual spiritual renewal. Graham proclaimed heaven as the ultimate city and did not encourage listeners to stay in cities or challenge white flight. As a respected pastor and leader, Graham’s messages highlight how evangelicals could consider cities in need of spiritual renewal but not require structural responses or living in cities as well as the limited power evangelical religious leaders have regarding contentious social issues.

scholarly journals Keluarga dan Pendidikan Karakter: Menggali Implikasi Nilai-nilai Hausetafel dalam Efesus 6:1-9

Kurios ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Febby Nancy Patty ◽  
Vincent Kalvin Wenno ◽  
Fiona Anggraini Toisuta
Keyword(s):  
Character Education ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Church Life ◽  
The Family ◽  
Christian Family ◽  
Moral Crisis ◽  
Christian Families

The moral crisis in Christian families due to globalization has resulted in the loss of the function of the Christian family in society. This results in the shift in family values to be replaced by individualist, consumerist, and hedonistic values. This article describes the concept of family (hausetafel) in the letters of Ephesians and Colossians. The author uses a historical socio interpretation, to search for and find the meaning of the two epistles. The results of the interpretation show that the two epistles are very rich related to family and moral values (character). The meaning cannot be separated from its socio-historical and cultural context. Some of the values contained include the revelation of Christ in and through the family, love as the basis for binding family members, the family as a basis for character education, equality relations. The family image becomes a model for church life. Abstrak Krisis moral yang terjadi di tengah keluarga Kristen akibat globalisasi, mengakibatkan hilangnya fungsi keluarga Kristen di tengah masyarakat. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan bergesernya nilai-nilai keluarga digantikan dengan nilai-nilai individualis, konsumerisme, hedonistik. Artikel ini memuat tentang konsep keluarga (hausetafel) dalam surat Efesus 6:1-9. Penulis menggunakan penafsiran sosio historis, untuk mencari dan menemukan makna atau nilai kekeluargaan menurut pemikiran Paulus. Hasil penafsiran menunjukkan bahwa penguatan nilai-nilai keluarga tidak lepas dari konteks sosio-historis dan kulturalnya yang yang didominasi oleh pola-pola relasi kekuasaan yakni patron-klien yang ber-dampak pada kehidupan persekutuan umat. Sehingga perlu adanya penguatan moral dan karakter yang berdasar pada nilai-nilai kekeluargaan. Beberapa nilai haustafel yang menonjol dalam perikop ini yakni nilai kebenaran, kasih dan ketaatan, penghormatan, nilai persaudaraan, bersikap adil dan hidup setara yang selanjutnya menjadi model bagi kehidupan gereja maupun kekristenan.

scholarly journals LIFE SCIENCES TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS ABOUT SOCIOSCIENTIFIC ISSUES IN THE TOPIC EVOLUTION

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokgadi Relela ◽  
◽  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Socioscientific Issues ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Topic Evolution

The goal of science education is emphatically positioned on promoting science literacy. The rationale is learners should not only learn about scientific knowledge and processes but also on how to apply the knowledge when making decisions about heterogenous societal and personal issues. Previous research has indicated that by addressing socioscientific issues (SSIs) when teaching controversial science topics, it provides a suitable context for developing scientific literacy in learners. Scientifically literate learners are well-informed citizens with regards to the social, ethical, economic, and political issues impacting on contemporary society. The theory of evolution is one such Life Sciences topic deeply embedded with SSIs. Teachers are conflicted when teaching this topic due to the controversy surrounding the theory as they view the teaching of evolution as a way of negating the legitimacy of their religious and cultural convictions. It is against this background that the study sought to answer the research question: How do Life Sciences teachers conceptualise socioscientific issues embedded in the topic evolution? In an explanatory mixed method approach, a questionnaire with both quantitative and qualitative questions was administered to 28 randomly selected grade 12 Life Sciences teachers. Data was analysed and descriptive statistics were obtained, and themes generated. The findings showed that all the participants were knowledgeable about the SSIs embedded in the topic evolution. In justifying their conceptions 61% of the teachers perceived SSIs as important in improving learners’ reasoning and argumentative skills; developing learners’ critical thinking skills; and in informing learners in decision making. There were however 11% of the teachers who pointed out that SSIs as too sensitive to deal with hence not suitable to teach young learners. Though the teachers were knowledgeable about the SSIs embedded in the theory of evolution, it does not mean that they could address them when teaching the various concepts of evolution. The main source of the controversy rose from the evolution of humankind versus the Christian belief in the six-day special creation. The participants (25%) indicated that evolution challenges peoples’ religious and cultural convictions, which conflicts both the teachers and learners to question or go against their religious beliefs. Several teachers pointed out that some of the concepts on evolution such as ‘living organisms share common ancestry (18%) and ‘the formation of new species from existing species’ (11%), undermine the superiority of human beings over other organisms. The findings have implications for both pre-and in-service teacher professional development.

Conservative Chick? Conservative Culture Warriors at War

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 738-765
Author(s):  
NATHAN SAUNDERS
Keyword(s):  
Comic Book ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
New Right ◽  
Billy Graham ◽  
Jerry Falwell ◽  
Social Conservatism ◽  
Christian Nation ◽  
Roman Catholics ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Conservative Protestants

The American New Right that grew to prominence during the second half of the twentieth century consists of three major ideological strands – traditionalism, libertarianism, and anticommunism. The New Christian Right (NCR) that rose to prominence in the 1970s fell within the traditionalist camp. At the same time, not all theological conservatives or social traditionalists joined the NCR. The work of comic book artist Jack Chick demonstrates the phenomenon of opposition to the NCR among some theological and social conservatives. Beginning in the early 1960s, Chick published tracts and comic books that espoused extreme social conservatism while at the same time opposing government enforcement of social norms. He frequently criticized politically active or well-connected preachers such as Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham and opposed prayer in schools. Chick, along with many other fundamentalists, opposed the NCR because it involved cooperation with Roman Catholics. For Chick, doctrinal purity is more important than having a “Christian” nation. This essay concludes by noting how, as evangelicals lose ground in key battles of the culture wars, there are signs that Chick's antipolitics is gaining ground among conservative Protestants.

Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 146-154
Author(s):  
Emily Suzanne Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Family Values ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Christian Women ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
The World ◽  
Conservative Christian ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Central Characters

The legacies of the New Christian Right are readily apparent in modern US politics and culture, especially in the still-salient rhetoric of “family values.” Yet despite a long history of women’s leadership in this movement, prominent conservative Christian women still seem like paradoxical anomalies to many Americans. This book explores the world that these women come from. It is the story of the rich proliferation of conservative Christian women’s political and cultural authority within a still-growing subculture of evangelicals that now reaches into almost every niche of American cultural life. The conclusion draws connections between modern developments and the history that is the focus of this book’s early chapters. It also brings the stories of the book’s central characters up to the present, tracing later developments in their lives and careers to answer the question: “Where are they now?”

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