Christian Coalition, a political action and evangelical piety movement based in Washington, D.C., was formed in 1989 by the Reverend Pat Robertson to provide him with a national vehicle for public advocacy. Defeated in the Republican presidential primaries the previous year, Robertson was poised to fill the vacuum among fundamentalist activists caused by the dissolution of the Moral Majority. Ralph Reed, an early executive director, secured wide public exposure for the Christian Coalition through frequent media appearances and by securing it access among prominent politicians. Its subsequent executive director, Roberta Combs, focused on organization and on mobilizing youth activists. The Christian Coalition claimed in 2001 to have nearly two million members nationwide with branches in every state and on many university campuses.
The Christian Coalition was founded on the belief that "people of faith" have a right and a responsibility to effect social, cultural, and political change in their local communities. Its members denounced promiscuity and what they deemed as individualist, feminist, and judicial excesses, and preferred a larger role for independent groups instead of the federal government. Its goals included strengthening "family values" by fighting abortions, pornography, homosexuality, bigotry, and religious persecution, and by endorsing prayer in public places such as schools. Easing the tax burden on married couples and fighting crime by severely punishing culprits while protecting the rights of victims complemented its mission.
Educating, lobbying, and disseminating information through courses, lectures, debate forums, issue voter guides, and scorecards for certain candidates on its issues of concern were the hallmark of the Christian Coalition. Its brochure "From the Pew to the Precinct" emphasized that in order to preserve its tax-exempt status, this movement did not specifically endorse individuals or parties, but the vast majority of its grassroots mobilization supported the Republican Party.
Bibliography
Harding, Susan Friend. The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2000.
—Itai Sneh
