ABSTRACT
Politics and religion have played a loud and at times discordant counterpoint in the United States for many generations. A general linkage between fundamentalist religion and conservative politics is an enduring theme in American history. The political language of New Christian Right (NCR) organizations and leaders are extracted from America's national print media. Jimmy Carter's presence on the national political stage thus was a kind of catalyst in the rise of the NCR, first drawing attention to the role of born-again Christianity in politics, and then giving NCR leaders a sense of betrayal and a set of grievances around which to build a movement. The NCR can be looked at in two ways: at the elite level, as a group of organizations and as a highly visible presence in the media; and at the mass level, as a very large "born-again" Christian constituency.
