An equal and opposite reaction

Introduction to Chapter 7: The 1960s and 1970s had been a difficult time for most Americans, much of which was blamed on liberal leadership in the nation’s political, social, and cultural arenas and what many saw as an increasingly secular society. The proliferation of new religious movements, many of which were neither Christian nor Western, as well as the challenges posed by reformers within mainstream Christian denominations, brought about “an equal and opposite reaction” on the part of Christian conservatives. The overarching goal of the New Christian Right was to redeem the United States as a Christian nation. Its specific issues were many, including returning prayer to the public schools, providing vouchers to families who preferred their children attend private schools, opposing abortion and homosexuality, teaching creationism in in the public schools, defeating the Equal Rights Amendment, and blocking affirmative action.