Premature declarations of the religious right’s death confused progress narratives with institutional continuity

Evidence

Dogged by organizational challenges, including a long battle over its tax status, by the late 1990s the Christian Coalition’s star began to fade. Some religiously moderate and secular observers declared the death of the religious right, a narrative that fit comfortably within their views about progress. But they confused their own visions of history with observations of reality. As the Christian Coalition (following the Moral Majority) waned in importance, other organizations stepped up, often with the same key people in the lead. — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 287

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the learned example from other chapters that political movements reincarnate under new organizational names with the same personnel — same instinct as noting premature claims of disestablishment. — connects to: The narrative of progress from religious to secular is now untenable — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 17; Reports of pan-Arabism’s death are recurrent but so far premature — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism: a renewed contract of…, 37; Religious nationalism intensifies during social crises regardless of demographic religious decline — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 197 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Religion-driven intergroup conflict persists against secularization predictions. #corroborates (0.88) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 888
• The narrative of progress from religious to secular is now untenable #corroborates (0.85) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 17
• Religious nationalism intensifies during social crises regardless of demographic religious decline #corroborates (0.82) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 197
• Reports of pan-Arabism’s death are recurrent but so far premature #corroborates (0.80) — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism, 37
• Religious collectives outlast political meaning systems and still serve identity needs #corroborates (0.78) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 919
• The religious right redefined the post-Cold War era as a cultural war #expands (0.75) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 323