Not by Politics Alone

"...examines how conservative evangelical groups have maintained their influence for over two decades by drawing from a web of grassroots cultural institutions designed to meet their adherents' personal and ideological needs."

In this incisive work, Sara Diamond expands our understanding of the Christian Right beyond what is commonly known about its electoral clout, shedding light on the rarely seen boundaries and intersections where politics and culture converge. The book examines the web of grassroots cultural institutions, including publishing houses, law firms, broadcast stations, and church-centered community programs, that have helped conservative evangelical groups maintain their influence for over two decades. Highlighting the movement's complex alliance with the Republican Party, Diamond provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at the formation, organizing strategies, and heated internal debates of such powerful national organizations as Focus on the Family and the Christian Coalition. She offers a richly textured analysis of how the rubric of "family values" has been used to infuse evangelical beliefs into local and national discussions around such disparate issues as childrearing, gay rights, abortion, public education, and funding for the arts.

Publishers Weekly

The Christian Right's growth into a formidable social movement and political power over the last couple of decades has provoked alarm in many quarters. In this sweeping and well-documented survey of the movement, Diamond concludes that its survival is due to the diversity of its many subcultural institutions and to its links with the Republican Party. The author doesn't bother defining "the Christian Right," nor does she offer more than a nutshell history. Her purpose is not primarily to critique, although her own bias emerges from time to time in expressions such as "simple-minded," "fractious," "irrational," and they "fight change and punish those responsible for it." Diamond generally avoids direct condemnation, however; in fact, she is occasionally critical of the criticisms leveled at the Christian Right, moderating the knee-jerk stereotyping that fails to take it seriously. She prefers instead to let the movement's rhetoric speak for itself through myriad groups such as Promise Keepers, the Christian Coalition and Operation Rescue, as well as a seemingly endless list of publications and TV and radio shows. While Diamond doesn't challenge the personal motivations of prominent individuals in the Christian Right, she notes that shrewd business tactics, political hardball, scare tactics and sometimes outright deception seem to have more to do with the movement's staying power than any divine intervention. Like her Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States, this is a balanced, eye-opening and accessible read. (Nov.)

Sara Diamond, PhD, a leading authority on right-wing movements in the United States, holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of California. She is the author of Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States; Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right; and Facing the Wrath: Confronting the Right in Dangerous Times. She lives in Berkeley, California.