Introduction

Christopher Reed observed that the chances of passage were slim, a reflection of the larger situation for the Christian Right, namely that it is in a period of retrenchment. If Reed is correct, this is a cause for alarm for critics, and a reason for jubilation for religious Right adherents. Is the Christian Right a spent social movement, or has it become a durable feature of the political landscape as we approach the fin de siecle? Is it and will it in the foreseeable future exists on the margins, or is it and will it be a viable force in defining the core values of the American polity? At bedrock, what was lacking in St. Ives was a level of intensity that would have suggested that the members of the congregation genuinely viewed themselves as a vanguard of societal transformation. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.