The Bible and the Religious Right

Abstract

This chapter identifies the doctrines that are central to conservative American Christians’ interpretation of biblical texts. Such believers view their scriptures as inerrant, literal, divinely inspired, authoritative, easily understood, internally consistent, and coherent, a vision of the Bible that does not necessarily lead to conservative social and political views, even as those conservative Christians who participate in conservative politics insist that it must. Those who use conservative faith to justify conservative politics form the Religious Right, which seeks to form a “Bible-based” America, one in which a limited government promotes a strong international presence, free-market capitalism, and individual liberty. This chapter traces how the Religious Right promotes the Bible as the root of American law, a hierarchy that allows them to argue that all those in the United States, not merely conservative Christians, are under the authority of the Bible, creating a mandate for Christians to seek and maintain power.