Religious Right

Cultural  

1. A coalition of right-wing Protestant fundamentalist (see fundamentalism) leaders who have become increasingly active in politics since the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Roe versus Wade. Among its leaders are Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. The Religious Right sponsors a network of Christian bookstores, radio stations, and television evangelists. Opposed to abortion (see also abortion), pornography, and what it views as the marginalizing of religion in American public life, the Religious Right has also championed prayer in the public schools. In the 1980s it gave strong support to President Ronald Reagan.

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Example Sentences

The Rev. Billy Graham, the nation’s top evangelist, and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the rising leader of the so-called Religious Right, also blitzed Carter.

From Washington Times • Apr. 16, 2023

The late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the university’s founder, was a famous television preacher and a key figure in the Religious Right movement of the 1980s and 90s.

From Washington Post • Dec. 14, 2015

By 1983, with the rise of the Religious Right and the formation of the Home School Legal Defense Association, the number of homeschooled children in the United States had ballooned to between 60,000 and 125,000.

From Time • Aug. 17, 2015

These events may fairly be seen in the context of the ongoing transition of the Religious Right as the founding generation of movement leaders passes from the scene.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2010

The exit of Falwell plainly ends the initial era of the Religious Right and quickens speculation on its prospects in the next phase.

From Time Magazine Archive