Are evangelical Christians really becoming less conservative in their politics, or is it just trendy to declare yourself an independent?
Case in point: Cameron Strang, who edits young adult Christian magazine Relevant was scheduled to give a benediction at the Democratic National Convention but backed out. Shortly afterward he relinquished his membership in the Republican Party and went Independent. According to Christianity Today, he’s not alone.
Identification with the Republican Party among evangelicals between the ages of 18-29 fell from 55 percent in 2001 to 40 percent in 2007, the Pew Forum found. Identification with the Democratic Party stayed relatively flat (from 16 percent to 19 percent).
Strang said he went Independent so he can “vote because of values and convictions, not party affiliations. To me, that’s an important part of being a thinking, values-minded Christian.”
While it appears that “values minded” evangelical Christians are flocking away from the GOP in strong numbers—have they really moderated their political thinking? Sure, many evangelical churches, led by that 18-29 year old group, have dedicated themselves to such liberal causes as the environment and even moderated their positions on gays and lesbians—but overall, the evangelical landscape hasn’t changed all that much.
Leaders at 44 percent of the congregations called their church “somewhat conservative,” up from 33 percent in 2005, while congregations who say they are “right in the middle” went from 11 percent in 2005 to 17 percent in 2008.
The political identification trend does not translate to theology, however. Only 6 percent of megachurches identified themselves as theologically moderate, down from 12 percent in 2000. Identification as evangelical, meanwhile, went from 48 percent in 2000 to 65 percent in 2008.
With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that even “thinking” evangelicals who vote on “values and convictions” won’t still impulsively cast their vote for the Republican ticket without a second thought.
