Evangelical Right Jolted by Election, Scandal

Nov. 12, 2006 — -- The election results seem to have opened up a debate among some Christian evangelists as to what to do next -- stick with a Republican Party that's out of power in Congress and which, some suggest, hasn't fulfilled its promises to them, or see if the Democrats have a home for them.

Some have even suggested that the groups take a break from active political involvement.

About 70 million Americans call themselves evangelical Christians, and for many of them, the election was a disaster: Democrats took control of Congress, while their political allies, the Republicans, went down in flames.

An initiative to restrict abortion was defeated in South Dakota. A measure to promote stem cell research was approved in Missouri and an amendment to ban gay marriage was defeated in Arizona.

Just days before the election, the shocking revelation was made that evangelical leader Ted Haggard had consorted with a male prostitute.

Christian evangelists still voted Republican by a 2-to-1 margin, but there were defections.

Gary Pilafas, of suburban Chicago, traditionally votes Republican. But this time, he voted for several Democratic candidates, too.

"In short, I could see myself voting for a Democratic president … if they have the integrity and character traits that I'm looking for as a voter or just a citizen of this country," Pilafas said.

David Kuo, a former official with the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and author of "Tempting Faith," said it's time to acknowledge that Republicans have failed to deliver on key social issues.

"The election showed that evangelicals will go whichever way their conscience tells them to go," Kuo said. "A lot of these major Christian leaders have sold out Jesus for politics and they're now looking back and saying, 'Oh my gosh, what have we gotten for the trade?'"

Some Christian political activists actually see a silver lining in the emergence of socially-conservative Democrats like Bob Casey, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, and Heath Shuler, an anti-abortion evangelical elected to Congress in North Carolina.

"The candidates that did well were more moderate, were pro-life, and in some cases pro-marriage candidates," Kuo said. "That's an important lesson for both political parties."

Some evangelists have even suggested taking a break from politics.

Ted Olsen, news director of "Christianity Today," said that's not likely.

"I think that evangelicals have a view of their faith that says, 'I need to be involved in the world,' " Olsen said. "I think it would be against their evangelical DNA to pull out of politics."