William McKenzie: Evangelicals are broadening their reach
Moving away from monolithic view will help them become a more powerful force
Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Many Americans see evangelicals as a monolithic group that opposes gay marriage and abortion and worships in the suburbs at megachurches like Prestonwood Baptist. And many of the estimated 15 million adult evangelicals do fit this pattern, which Republican strategists searching for red-state voters are happy to see.

But when you start looking at this development over here and that one over there, you can see a new trend emerging among evangelicals. In politics and culture, this shift could have huge, and positive, consequences.

If evangelicals – who theologically emphasize personal conversions to Christ, a literal reading of Scripture and Jesus' return – begin to rethink some assumptions about how the world should work, the larger political universe will feel it. the rest