Book says religious right evolving, growing
Harry R. Jackson Jr., a black Democrat and senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C., and Tony Perkins, a white Republican and head of the Family Research Council, joined forces to write the book, released in March by FrontLine. The Jackson-Perkins team is no accident and used specifically to illustrate their point that the religious right is not what the media or "the left" paint it to be.
"The day when the words 'religious right' brought to mind a stern-looking, gray-haired white man raised on prune juice are over — or should be," they write. "The fact that this book is being authored by two men of different races and very different backgrounds is emblematic of the Right's present demographic."
They hope their work will "lay out a strong moral platform and a strategy that will enable Bible-believing Christians of every color to stand together at this defining moment in the history of our nation," according to the text.
The book not only lays out what the authors feel is the direction the country should take, but also describe the face of the religious right.
"People of all different races, cultures, ages and religious backgrounds now find a home on the religious right," they write.
"The movement is building bridges and alliances with people and organizations some might find surprising."
They note that Asian and Hispanic evangelicals are part of the "culture diversification" of the movement, along with younger people joining as illustrated by dozens of youth camps and programs across the country with thousands of participants.
Perkins and Jackson point out that a common theme from pundits and other media during the 2008 election — as well as in the past — has been that the religious right is dying or on life support.
But at the book's release at the National Press Club in Washington, Perkins said: "I feel amazingly well."
"This book is evidence of the changing religious right," Perkins said.
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