MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Jared A. Farley Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Ryan J. Barilleaux Director John P. Forren Reader Augustus J. Jones Reader Mary Kupiec Cayton Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT THE POLITICALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN EVANGELICAL PRESS, 1960— 1981: A TEST OF THE IDEOLOGICAL THEORY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT MOBILIZATION by Jared A. Farley In the last decade, scholars have increasingly begun to study the role of issue entrepreneurs and subculture elites in utilizing ideologies, frames and cultural symbolism in the mobilization of social and political movements. Despite this, one of the most important social/political movements of the last century, the rise of the Evangelical Right, has largely escaped examination through these lenses. A limited number have focused their attention upon the more prominent evangelical leaders, like Rev. Jerry Falwell, but this work examines the evangelical subculture from a broader perspective. A similar criticism is that the scholarship in this field often oversimplifies this political reawakening. Researchers often suggest that the 1976 presidential campaign of fellow evangelical Jimmy Carter was the central mobilizing force which propelled white evangelicals into the electoral arena, causing secular conservative political operatives to realize the dormant electoral potential of this community. This study shows that operatives and elites within the evangelical subculture were moving to politicalize the subculture long before the 1980 election, the establishment of Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority or even the 1976 election. Finally, this study provides an analysis of the ideology evangelicals were mobilized under during the 1960s and 1970s. Social movement scholars have recently begun talking about the functions movement ideologies must serve for a mobilization to be successful. This study tests these hypotheses with a systematic, empirical, primary source analysis, rather than the nonsystematic, hearsay or anecdotal evidence that exemplifies most of the social movements’ literature. The final chapter provides an overview of the political ideology and issue framing which emerge from the pages of the major evangelical periodicals of this time period. This politicalization of the evangelical subculture is an important topic for analysis not only because of what it can tell us about the top-down mobilization of social/political movements, but also because of the insights it lends to the formation of one of the most significant and powerful political movements in recent history. THE POLITICALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN EVANGELICAL PRESS, 1960- 1981: A TEST OF THE IDEOLOGICAL THEORY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT MOBILIZATION A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science by Jared A. Farley Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2006 Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Ryan J. Barilleaux © Jared A. Farley 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………... v LIST OF GRAPHS………………………………………………………………. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………. xii INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER 1- THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AMERICAN EVANGELICALS…………………………………………………. 4 • Defining Evangelicalism • Sub-Types of Evangelicalism • Concepts of Evangelicalism • Typical Evangelical Communions • A Short History of Evangelicalism in the United States CHAPTER 2- A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN EVANGELICAL POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT……………………………………………………………….. 27 CHAPTER 3- LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………… 46 • Applications of Social Movement Mobilization Theory to the American Evangelical Political Mobilization of the 1970s • Research Design CHAPTER 4- POLITICAL CONTENT ANALYSIS FINDINGS…………… 79 • General Findings • Participation Findings • Partisan Bias Findings • Politician Findings iii • Evangelical Political Leader Findings • Political Organization Findings • General Public Policy Findings • Moral Public Policy Findings • Non-Moral Public Policy Findings • Conclusion CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION………………………………………………….. 127 • Review • Interpretation • Significance • Future Research Selected Bibliography…………………………………………………………. 141 Appendix A …………………………………………………………………….. 162 Appendix B …………………………………………………………………….. 227 Appendix C ………………………………………………………………….…. 232 Appendix D …………………………………………………………………….. 235 Appendix E …………………………………………………………………….. 260 Appendix F …………………………………………………………………….. 261 iv LIST OF TABLES TABLES PAGE Table 1- The Evolution of the Cable Television in the United States ………. 63 Table 2- Christianity Today Circulation Figures …………………………….… 73 Table 3- Christian Life Circulation Figures ……………………………………. 74 Table 4- Charisma Circulation Figures ………………………………………... 74 Table 5- Decision Circulation Figures …………………………………………. 75 Table 6- Moody Monthly Circulation Figures …………………………………. 76 Table A1- Content Judged to Contain a Reference to an Individual Politician Classified by Tone and Partisanship for All Four Magazines ………. 227 Table B1- Individual Instances of Content Containing References to Individual Politicians ………………………………………………………………… 228 Table C1- Individual Instances of Political Content Containing References to Individual Evangelical Political Leader for All Four Magazines ……. 229 Table D1- Individual Instances of Political Content Containing References to a Political Interest Group for All Four Magazines ……………………... 230 Table E1- Individual Instances of Political Content Containing a Discussion of a Moral Issue for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………….. 231 v LIST OF GRAPHS GRAPH PAGE A Political Content for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………… 162 B Political Content for Each Year in Christianity Today ………………….. 163 C Political Content for Each Year in Moody Monthly ……………………... 164 D Political Content for Each Year in Christian Life ………………………... 165 E Political Content for Each Year in Decision ……………………………... 166 F Political Cover Stories for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………….. 167 G Non-Cover Political Feature Stories for Each Year in All Four Magazines…………………………………………………………………... 168 H Political Editorials for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………..169 I Political Non-Feature Stories for Each Year in All Four Magazines…... 170 J Political Advertisements for Each Year in All Four Magazines ……….. 171 K Political Photographs or Cartoons for Each Year in All Four Magazines……………………………………………………………………172 L Brief Political Stories for Each Year in All Four Magazines …………… 173 M Political Stories of 1/12th to 1/4th of a Page for Each Year in All Four Magazines…………………………………………………………………… 174 N Political Stories of 1/4th to ½ of a Page for Each Year in All Four Magazines ……………………………………………………………………175 vi O Political Stories of ½ to 1 Full Page for Each Year in All Four Magazines…………………………………………………………………… 176 P Political Stories of 1 Full Page to 3 Pages for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………………………………………………………..… 177 Q Political Stories of Greater than 3 Pages to 5 Pages for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………………………………………………….... 178 R Political Stories of Greater than 5 Pages for Each Year in All Four Magazines ……………………………………………………………….… 179 S Content Containing Explicit Calls for Readers to Participate ………… 180 T Content Containing Explicit Calls for Readers to Participate in Christianity Today Only ………………………………………………………………... 181 U Content Containing Explicit Calls for Readers to Participate in Christian Life Only…………………………………………………………………… 182 V Content Containing Explicit Calls for Readers to Participate in Moody Monthly Only ……………………………………………………………... 183 W Content Containing Explicit Calls for Readers to Participate in Decision Only ………………………………………………………………….……. 184 X Content Containing Examples of Participation for Each Year in All Four Magazines ……………………………………………………………..…. 185 Y Content Containing Suggestions that the Church Should Stay Out of Politics for Each Year in All Four Magazines …………………….…… 186 Z Content Judged to Contain a Partisan Bias for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………………………………………………………... 187 vii A1 Content Judged to Contain Partisan Bias for Each Year in Christianity Today Only ……………………………………………………………….. 188 B1 Content Judged to Contain Partisan Bias for Each Year in Christian Life Only …………………………………………………………………..…… 189 C1 Content Judged to Contain Partisan Bias for Each Year in Moody Monthly Only ……………………………………………………………………….. 190 D1 Content Judged to Contain Partisan Bias for Each Year in Decision Only……………………………………………………………………...… 191 E1 Content Judged to Contain a Clear and Explicit Partisan Bias for Each Year in All Four Magazines ……………………………………..……… 192 F1 Content Judged to Contain an Attempt at Partisan Neutrality for Each Year in All Four Magazines …………………………………………………… 193 G1 Content Judged to Suggest that Liberal Protestants were Incorrect Politically as well as Theologically for Each Year in All Four Magazines……………………………………………………………..….. 194 H1 Content Judged to Contain a Reference to a Specific Politician for Each Year in All Four Magazines …………………………………….…….… 195 I1 Content Judged to be Favorable Toward Individual Republican Politicians for Each Year in All Four Magazines …………………………….……. 196 J1 Content Judged to Contain Negative References to Individual Republican Politicians for Each Year in All Four Magazines ………………..……. 197 K1 Content Judged to Contain Neutral References to Republican Politicians for Each Year in All Four