"The REAL Origins of the Religious Right"
"In fact, it wasn’t until 1979—a full six years after Roe—that evangelical leaders, at the behest of conservative activist Paul Weyrich, seized on abortion not for moral reasons, but as a rallying-cry to deny President Jimmy Carter a second term. Why? Because the anti-abortion crusade was more palatable than the religious right’s real motive: protecting segregated schools."
Uhh... no... not even close...
The ACTUAL "real" origins of the "religious right" go much farther back first of all.
It started with the "aftereffects" of the second great awakening, and the fundamentalist-modernist/reformist controversy and schism of the late 1890s through 1920s.
This was the separation of "mainline" protestantism, and evangelical/fundamental protestantism; as well as the marking of wholesale entry of organized fundamentalist church groups aggregating into larger political blocs and attempting to act on a regional and national basis.
It's got NOTHING to do with racism or race... Mostly in fact, the issues they advocated for, were economic and social justice issues.
Mainline protestantism mostly aligned strongly on the right economically but were socially moderate, and evangelical/fundamentalist protestantism mostly aligned strongly on the left economically (particularly with the rise of "farm progressives" and later the "new deal"), while being strongly socially conservative or reactionary.
What BEGAN to establish religious groups as right wing in the fundamentalist and evangelical branches, was in fact largely postwar anti-communism/anti-socialism.
From the 1920s, the evangelical churches that were active in issues of race, were strongly economically leftist and STAUNCH democrats.
It was the LATER response to changing social conditions and the rise of race based social change in the south that roused the more reactionary elements...
But that was NOT a factor of the "religious right"...
In fact that was STILL mostly among democrats and those who were moderate leftists economically, but "social conservatives" (who were not in fact conservatives, they were reactionaries).
It wasn't even until the 1980s that the majority of evangelicals identified at Republican or right wing, primarily transitioning with Carter and Reagan.
Through at least the early 80s, evangelicals and other fundamentalists were the strong core of southern, and midwestern democrats.
Ascribing the rise of the "religious right" to race is... ridiculous, short sighted, and bigoted.
...Though unsurprising...
