Can a moral minority survive?(Book review)

• Published in: American Conservative Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 50 - 51
• Main Author: Goldman, Samuel
• Format: Book Review Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arlington The American Conservative LLC 01.07.2016; American Conservative LLC
• Subjects: Conservatism; Eberstadt, Mary; Freedom of religion; Morality; Nonfiction
• ISSN: 1540-966X

On April 27, 1979, Jerry Falwell addressed thousands of conservative Christians from the steps of the Capitol. Asserting that the "vast majority" of Americans were opposed to pornography, abortion, and homosexuality, he announced the establishment of a new organization to promote "pro-family, pro-life, and pro-morality" policies. In a statement before the rally, Falwell explained the motive behind what he called the Moral Majority: "We've had enough and we want America cleaned up." To support this interpretation, [Mary Eberstadt] offers a parade of horribles drawn from around the Englishspeaking world. The incidents she cites range from the ouster of Brendan Eich as CEO of Mozilla to penalties imposed on teachers who defended Catholic doctrines on sexuality to the withdrawal of recognition from religious clubs at several universities. Eberstadt acknowledges that her examples are "disparate." But she insists that they add up to a "widespread and growing effort to shame, punish, and ostracize people because of what they believe." Eberstadt contends that a similar logic is being turned against religious traditionalists today. The Moral Majority posed a plausible challenge to the sexual revolution. Today's dissenters from the sexual revolution, by contrast, are symbolic sacrifices at the altar of progress. According to Eberstadt, "the notion that the religious counterculture" can enforce its vision of righteousness on a majority is "downright absurd." In her judgment, it is because they have so little real influence that recalcitrant bakers or photographers have to be publicly shamed by progressives.