Christian right The Christian Right, or more generally the religious right, is a broad label applied to a number of political and/or religious movements with particularly conservative or right wing views. While such elements are found in many nations, the term is most commonly applied to groups within the United States. Christian Right groups, as the name implies, consist primarily of Christians, many of them fundamentalists; some have been known to claim that their political positions are, or ought to be, the views of all Christians. In reality, American Christians hold a wide variety of political views. Most elements of the Christian Right sympathize with, support, and sometimes influence the United States Republican Party. For example, such support provided considerable backing for the campaign of U.S. President George W. Bush. Issues which the Christian Right is (or is thought to be) primarily concerned with include: Banning or heavily restricting abortion. Banning some applications of bio-technology: bio-ethics. Opposition to the gay rights movement and the upholding of traditional family values. Opposition to the practice of gay or straight "sodomy" (usually meaning anal sex or oral sex outside of marriage, though sometimes within too). Support for the presence of Christianity in the public sphere, such as with prayer in school. Ending government funding restrictions against religious charities and schools, and similar matters. Opposition to U.S. court decisions widening the separation of church and state beyond historical tradition. Banning of books, music, television programs, films, etc. that they view as indecent (especially pornography). In the past they also supported other ideas, most notably prohibition, abolitionism and civil rights. Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Christian Right considered foreign affairs an exercise in respecting national sovereignty, encouraging the peaceful spread of democracy and freedom of religion, and support of Israel as a matter of biblical doctrine. Since then, however, many of its most prominent spokespersons have joined with neoconservatives in strongly supporting the War on Terror in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Expressing profound sympathy for Israel, some have gone so far as to advocate the "transfer" of the Palestinian population from the West Bank to another Arabic nation (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt or Saudi Arabia) as the only viable long-term solution to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. The Reverend Franklin Graham, in particular, has been noted for his strident views, drawing secular criticism for his harsh remarks directed at Islam and for his travelling to Baghdad to conduct an open-air Good Friday service primarily for persecuted Assyrian Christians and Chaldean Christians on April 18, 2003, nine days after the city had fallen to American troops. Citing these and other statements and actions, some critics have taken to characterizing the post-9/11 foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration and its most visible supporters as the Tenth Crusade. Several leading figures of the Christian Right refer to Biblical prophecy in their support of Israel. The school of interpretation of Biblical prophecy in which Israel figures most prominently is called dispensationalism. Controversy Use of the term "religious right" is thought by some to be an example of stereotyping by an allegedly liberal media. Others believe that there is no stereotyping at all, and the term "religious right" is used more often than other similar terms (such as "religious left") simply because the Christian right forms a more unified group than others of the Christian community. Notable members of the Christian Right It should be noted that extremists such as Fred Phelps have never had a significant following, and others, such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who once had large followings, have since lost their previously broad base of support. John Ashcroft Gary Bauer James Dobson Jerry Falwell Franklin Graham Alan Keyes Roy Moore Fred Phelps Pat Robertson R.J. Rushdoony Randall Terry See Also Christian Zionism Judeo-Christian tradition Kingdom Now theology - a teaching from the Charismatic movement that believes that God will appoint Christians into positions of power all over the world. Contrast: Christian left category:Charismatic and Pentecostal Topics FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right