We know the Religious Right movement is far from politically dead. On the contrary, plenty of proof exists that it continues to thrive in numerous spots across the country.
Take Louisiana, for example. Earlier this week, Bobby Jindal, a 36-year-old Indian-American, took the reins as the state’s 55th governor. Jindal, who served two terms in Congress as a representative of a suburban New Orleans district, broke through racial divisiveness in the state by touting his personal faith.
As The New York Times reported in October, Jindal targeted the state’s rural areas, “visiting them frequently and bringing his brand of devout Christianity to their rural churches.”
Jindal, the son of immigrants from India and a born-again Roman Catholic, suggested on the campaign trail that he supported teaching “intelligent design” in public school science courses and boasted about his animosity toward reproductive rights. He also garnered support from one of the state’s leading Religious Right outfits, the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF). (The LFF was Tony Perkins’s launching pad. Perkins has become a powerful player among the Religious Right movement from the helm of the Family Research Council.)
The LFF announced on its Web site that Jindal was scheduled to be the “special guest” at a Prayer Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 14, along with David Barton, the head of a fundamentalist group that advocates for a “Christian Nation” agenda.
In a Jan. 16 Family Research Council Action e-mail, Perkins said that he “had the opportunity to pray” with Jindal before his inauguration. Perkins also noted that Jindal’s “top priority” would be to revamp ethics laws to make Louisiana more attractive to businesses “that have shied away from my home state because of its history of political corruption.”
“Once that mission is accomplished,” Perkins continued, “I fully expect him to turn his attention toward promoting a more pro-family environment within the state.”
Advocates of church-state separation need to watch this situation closely.
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