Why are so many evangelicals conservative politically?

[Danmark]

"White evangelical Protestants are roughly five times more likely to agree with the Tea Party movement than to disagree with it...."
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/2 ... filiation/
http://www.pewforum.org/2011/02/23/tea- ... -religion/

Why?
Why should a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ be so conservative politically and economically? Why should the 'soldiers of Christ' be so pro big business and be lackey's for the 1% of Americans that own 40 or 50% of the Country's wealth? Why are they so hostile to social programs designed to help the poor and provide basic health coverage?

[DanieltheDragon]

Because they dint really believe in the whole bible just the parts that confirm their beliefs

[Divine Insight]

Because evangelical Christianity doesn't represent the moral values of Jesus. They just use Jesus as an excuse to condemn anyone who disagrees with their policies. And, as you point out, their policies are about as anti-Jesus as they can be.

[micatala]

I found the poll problematic.


I am a Christian. I consider myself 'born again' but have a different sense of what that means than many who use that term, or the related 'evangelical' term.

I do go to a non-denominational church, and most of the members would be conservative politically. I consider myself a moderate, perhaps slightly left of center.

I am not fan of the Tea Party, not so much for their anti-tax, pro-freedom agenda, but because they tend to provide simplistic solutions that are not adequately based on the facts to complicated problems, and they have been, at least to some extent in my view, coopted by more powerful forces and interests.

[Danmark]

I found the poll problematic.


I am a Christian. I consider myself 'born again' but have a different sense of what that means than many who use that term, or the related 'evangelical' term.

I do go to a non-denominational church, and most of the members would be conservative politically. I consider myself a moderate, perhaps slightly left of center.

I am not fan of the Tea Party, not so much for their anti-tax, pro-freedom agenda, but because they tend to provide simplistic solutions that are not adequately based on the facts to complicated problems, and they have been, at least to some extent in my view, coopted by more powerful forces and interests.

Thanks
So none of nos. 3, 4 and 5 didn't apply? ... a little?

I was going to make another choice, but I figured it would get close to 100% of the votes:
"This is another incompetently designed poll."

But seriously, why is it that so many evangelicals or fundamentalists seem to use the word 'liberal' as if it means 'communist heathen libertine?' ... or something akin to hating God, wanting to destroy families, and be card carrying members of the Playboy Club and the National Alliance of Brothels?

What is there about the extreme right (or the right third) of the American electorate that also attracts them to Christian fundamentalism, or evangelicals in general?

Some of the finest people I've ever known were or are Evangelical Christians, and they are not necessarily Republicans, but the two groups seem to have much congruency in terms of their demographics.

I'm interested in non pejorative reasons why the two groups tend to be linked. It's easy to come up with unfavorable motives, and those may be accurate, but what are the morally and intellectually defensible reasons for the linkage?

[East of Eden]

Non believers tend to be leftists because both believe in the myth of the perfectibility of man.

Jesus never told the Roman government to do anything, and several of the Ten Commandments protected private property. And the Old Testament tithe was 10% for rich and poor. I'm also fairly sure He would't approve of our killing 4,000 unborn children a day, just as He opposed child sacrifice to the Old Testament pagan god Moloch. As far as extemists, I would argue the extremist is in the White House. Conservatives hugely outnumber self-described liberals, and have for decades.

[Danmark]

Non believers tend to be leftists because both believe in the myth of the perfectibility of man.

Jesus never told the Roman government to do anything, and several of the Ten Commandments protected private property. And the Old Testament tithe was 10% for rich and poor. I'm also fairly sure He would't approve of our killing 4,000 unborn children a day, just as He opposed child sacrifice to the Old Testament pagan god Moloch. As far as extemists, I would argue the extremist is in the White House. Conservatives hugely outnumber self-described liberals, and have for decades.

I wonder how Obama won the White House... twice, but let it go.

Who is it that believes in the 'perfectibility of man?' Just name one person in the 7 billion or so on the planet and prove that he believes what you said. You ought to be able to find at least one lunatic who believes that. How about some well known authentic liberal who believes man can be made perfect? C'mon, just one.

This is kind of typical right wing nonsense that makes liberals shake their heads about fact and science denying 'rightists' that confirms our suspicions they just make stuff up or repeat goofy things they heard from some pulpit and pass them on as gospel.

[East of Eden]

Non believers tend to be leftists because both believe in the myth of the perfectibility of man.

Jesus never told the Roman government to do anything, and several of the Ten Commandments protected private property. And the Old Testament tithe was 10% for rich and poor. I'm also fairly sure He would't approve of our killing 4,000 unborn children a day, just as He opposed child sacrifice to the Old Testament pagan god Moloch. As far as extemists, I would argue the extremist is in the White House. Conservatives hugely outnumber self-described liberals, and have for decades.

I wonder how Obama won the White House... twice, but let it go.

Anybody could have won after Bush's unpopularity. I would say the same of Reagan, he was also personally popular but probably more conservative than the nation at large.

Who is it that believes in the 'perfectibility of man?' Just name one person in the 7 billion or so on the planet and prove that he believes what you said. You ought to be able to find at least one lunatic who believes that. How about some well known authentic liberal who believes man can be made perfect? C'mon, just one.

Here you go, https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/steinbeck ... gione.html

"I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature" John Steinbeck

This is kind of typical right wing nonsense that makes liberals shake their heads about fact and science denying 'rightists' that confirms our suspicions they just make stuff up or repeat goofy things they heard from some pulpit and pass them on as gospel.

The idea has been around as long as Rousseau and others, that people are capable of achieving perfection on earth through natural means, without the grace of God. What do you think the failed Communist experiment was about?

[Danmark]

Non believers tend to be leftists because both believe in the myth of the perfectibility of man.

Jesus never told the Roman government to do anything, and several of the Ten Commandments protected private property. And the Old Testament tithe was 10% for rich and poor. I'm also fairly sure He would't approve of our killing 4,000 unborn children a day, just as He opposed child sacrifice to the Old Testament pagan god Moloch. As far as extemists, I would argue the extremist is in the White House. Conservatives hugely outnumber self-described liberals, and have for decades.

I wonder how Obama won the White House... twice, but let it go.

Anybody could have won after Bush's unpopularity. I would say the same of Reagan, he was also personally popular but probably more conservative than the nation at large.

Who is it that believes in the 'perfectibility of man?' Just name one person in the 7 billion or so on the planet and prove that he believes what you said. You ought to be able to find at least one lunatic who believes that. How about some well known authentic liberal who believes man can be made perfect? C'mon, just one.

Here you go, https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/steinbeck ... gione.html

"I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature" John Steinbeck

This is kind of typical right wing nonsense that makes liberals shake their heads about fact and science denying 'rightists' that confirms our suspicions they just make stuff up or repeat goofy things they heard from some pulpit and pass them on as gospel.

The idea has been around as long as Rousseau and others, that people are capable of achieving perfection on earth through natural means, without the grace of God. What do you think the failed Communist experiment was about?

I believe you have a profound misunderstanding of the concept.

For Steinbeck, however, this belief in the human potential for perfection did not imply either that human beings could attain perfection in the span of a lifetime or that society could advance to an ideal state, as Plato proposed in The Republic. Rather, he held that the pursuit of perfection, as an autotelic practice, was the most effective method of assuring the progress both of the individual and of society.
https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/steinbeck ... gione.html

The aim may be for perfection, just as the Christian aims to be perfect, knowing he cannot achieve it. We may know we cannot hit the absolute center of the bullseye, but that is where we aim.
...
Except of course in darts where the triple 20 scores higher.

[WinePusher]

"White evangelical Protestants are roughly five times more likely to agree with the Tea Party movement than to disagree with it...."
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/2 ... filiation/
http://www.pewforum.org/2011/02/23/tea- ... -religion/

Why?
Why should a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ be so conservative politically and economically? Why should the 'soldiers of Christ' be so pro big business and be lackey's for the 1% of Americans that own 40 or 50% of the Country's wealth? Why are they so hostile to social programs designed to help the poor and provide basic health coverage?

Because evangelical Christian conservatives realize that taking care of the poor, healthcare, etc should be done privately. And the research shows that Christian conservatives give far more to charity than liberals and atheists, so the Christian right wing is not being inconsistent in any way.