Pence urged the group to rekindle its interest in politics
, photo: The Gazette/Christian Murdock via AP, Pool
23 of June 2017 18:15:00
COLORADO SPRINGS – Vice President Mike Pence's visit Friday to Colorado to celebrate the anniversary of Focus on the Family came at a time of change for the religious right during the age of President Donald Trump.Focus on the Family was once well-known for its involvement in politics. But under new leadership, it has dialed that back in an effort by younger evangelicals to withdraw from partisan culture wars.At the same time, many older evangelicals have stayed the course, helping Trump become president and the religious right gain political power.
Trump's win breathed new life into the older-school political approach that Focus on the Family once embodied.Pence urged the group to rekindle its interest in politics, especially in light of a health care proposal that could dramatically slash support for abortion provider Planned Parenthood."The time is now," Pence said, rousing about 1,650 supporters to their feet when he declared the health law passed under President Barack Obama was "dead.""This is when we are going to defund Planned Parenthood once and for all," Pence said, whipping the standing crowd to whistles and cheers.Focus was founded in 1977 by James Dobson, a child psychologist who started a radio show advising Christians about being good parents. That effort evolved into Focus on the Family, which at its peak had more than 1,000 employees and served as a platform for Dobson to weigh in on legislation, sit on White House panels and campaign against gay rights.Dobson left in 2010, and the organization is now about half the size. It's led by 55-year-old Jim Daly, who has scaled back involvement in politics and sees himself as part of a younger generation of religious leadership.Focus remains true to its Dobson-era mission of fighting against laws that ban conversion therapy to "cure" gay people.But perhaps the greatest contrast between the old and new Focus came last year, when Dobson endorsed Trump while Daly and Focus stayed neutral."Those heavyweights in the Christian community" grew up in an era of widespread school prayer and centrality of Christianity in American life, Daly said. "They literally were trying to save the nation from going in the wrong direction."Daly said the younger generation knows those days are past and is wary of using electoral politics to rekindle them."Jesus does not go after Caesar much — he dealt with people at their point of need," Daly said, touting the ministry's radio show, counseling and efforts promoting foster care and adoption.His arguments echo those of other religious leaders such as Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention, who pushed his denomination to formally condemn the so-called "alt right" movement, and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California.The 81-year-old Dobson was vacationing in California and unavailable for an interview.[caption id="attachment_64250" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]We are excited to celebrate our 40th anniversary with @VP and our good friend @StevenCurtis. Join us for #FOTF40! ~ https://t.co/Zm812SJI24 pic.twitter.com/pucSRnDLnj
— Focus on the Family (@FocusFamily) 22 de junio de 2017
Much of the energy that conservative religious voters put behind Trump stemmed from the anxiety they felt during the Obama years, when gay marriage became legal and religious employers were required to provide health insurance that covered birth control."Our strength has a lot to do with the way the faith community felt under attack the past eight years," Hunt said.Even though Focus wasn't actively involved in Trump's win, Daly is happy with the administration. He also admires Pence.But Daly doesn't have too much faith that religious conservatives will stay in political power. Democrats, he said, will eventually win again."This is fleeting," Daly said.Trump and the religious right: a match made in heaven https://t.co/WIlsoUYCjA
— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) 13 de junio de 2017
NICHOLAS RICCARDIKRISTEN WYATT