Truth is not partisan.
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Culture Wars 101 |
| Welcome to the Web's only objective tour of America's political and cultural battles over abortion, homosexuality, and the separation of church and state. Whether you think of it as the "Christian Right" or the "Pro-Family movement", this site will help you learn more. |
Updated on Sunday (usually)Last updated 1/04/97 (Lotsa New Stories!)Click for a version of this site with frames |
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So What are these Culture Wars?
The American 'culture wars', or, as James Davison Hunter put it, "the struggle to define America" revolve around such topics as abortion, homosexuality, and public schools. These are all topics in which people alternatively described as 'pro-family activists', 'concerned religious conservatives', the 'Christian Right' or 'religious-political extremists' become involved.Surveying the press and World Wide Web, I have found very few resources that seek to inform rather than persuade; this site seeks to change that. By annotating and organizing links, I am building a site where visitors can better understand the heated debates going on about these topics by reading the words of those involved for themselves.
For those of you not familiar with the term, the phrase "Culture War" has been used to describe the dramatic re-alignment that has recently taken place in American politics. The observation is that on an increasing number of issues, from abortion to gun control to taxes, there are two definable poles in American politics defined not by their their nominal religion or even political affiliation, but rather their ideological worldview. In his book, Cullture Wars , Hunter describes this polarity as the impulse toward Progressivism and the impulse toward Orthodoxy.
Those inclined toward Progressivism, be they Catholic, Jew, Protestant, etc., believe that morality (and hence politics) should be informed by facts and experience that we learn as we travel through life. Morality is subjective to the times in which we live. The only ultimate truth we can know is that which we define for ourselves.
Those inclined toward Orthodoxy, on the other hand, be they Secular, Protestant, Jewish, etc., believe that morality (and hence politics) is not only definable and unchanging, it is external and transcendent, as explained by the revelation of God in the Bible. To claim that morality can be 'decided' my mortals is laughable.
While there's certainly more to the thesis, (and a lot more to the book), starting out with this basic understanding helps explain how groups like People for the American Way and Concerned Women for America can come to such completely opposite conclusions on almost every single topic of of contemporary debate. As you browse through the pages on this site, ask yourself how and why the groups represented here have come to their disparate conclusions. It will help you not only understand them, but yourself as well. Below is a link further exploring the idea of "culture wars". If you're ready, though, return to the top and take the tour!
Religion and Politics in the Culture Wars
This roundtable discussion, moderated by James Davison Hunter serves as a good introduction to some of the concepts in the American Culture War.