Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Young Evangelical Vote Is Up For Grabs

They no longer automatically claim Republican mantle

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 15, 2008 12:29 PM CDT

(Newser) – When Barack Obama and John McCain meet with pastor Rick Warren tomorrow, they’ll be fighting for the future of an increasingly split evangelical voting block, the Washington Post reports. Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, is at the forefront of a movement rippling through young evangelicals and prompting them to focus on issues outside the normal Republican purview, like AIDS, poverty, and climate change.

Jonathan Merritt, for example, is the son of Rev. James Merritt, who after Sept.11 called Bush “God’s man for the hour.” But Jonathan, 25, has recently begun questioning his father’s party. Republican attitudes toward poverty and the environment are “very difficult to reconcile totally” with the Bible, he says, though he’s still uncomfortable with Obama’s stances on gay marriage and abortion. “I’m not ruling out third-party candidates,” he says.

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (3)]

Voting members attending the Evangelical Lutheran Church pray before a debate on whether to allow non-celibate gays to be ordained. in this file photo. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Evangelical voter Phillip Cothran talks about his thoughts on the upcoming South Carolina primary in this Jan. 13 file photo. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

Barack Obama speaks about fatherhood at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago Sunday, June 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Barack Obama speaks at the Apostolic Church of God service about fatherhood in Chicago, Sunday, June 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hillary Clinton talks with Kay and Rick Warren, left, in the prayer room in a AIDS exhibit at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Barack Obama and John McCain will meet with Warren tommorrow. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I grew up believing an evangelical couldn't be a Democrat. The two were mutually exclusive. - Jonathan Merritt, son of conservative Rev. James Merritt

"When you look at the political party that has traditionally championed poverty, social justice and care for the least of these, it's not been the Republican Party" - Jonathan Merritt, son of conservative Rev. James Merritt

Truly, if you are an evangelical Christian, no political party should be able to fully represent you. - Donnie McDaniel, theology student

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Top Evangelical Weighs Candidates

Obama 'has given faith more thought and reflection,' Cizik writes

(NEWSER) - The presidential race is a contest between different sets of philosophy, writes Richard Cizik, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. In an NAE newsletter, Cizik says Barack Obama is “a thinker who sees the grays in ethical choices” while McCain opts for the “clarity of moral opposites”—and that Obama “has given faith more thought and reflection” than McCain. More»

Evangelical Dobson Softens on McCain

Given Obama 'threat,' Republican appears to be lesser of two evils

(NEWSER) - James Dobson still won’t formally endorse John McCain, but the evangelical leader voiced support for the Republican candidate in a radio broadcast today, the AP reports. “Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything I believe about the institution of the family and what is best for the nation,” Dobson said, forcing him “to reevaluate the candidacy of our only other choice.” More»

Anti-Obama Evangelical Writes Pro-Obama Book

Stephen Mansfield thinks Obama may sway young Christians, though he himself will vote against him

(NEWSER) - Stephen Mansfield expects to cast his ballot against Barack Obama in November. But that hasn’t stopped him from writing an admiring book about the candidate's religious profile—The Faith of Barack Obama—which argues that the candidate may well steal young evangelical voters away from John McCain. McCain is “clumsy when it comes to religion,” Mansfield tells Politico, in stark contrast to Obama’s “fluency” in the language of Christianity. More»

The Case for and Against Rick Warren

WaPost does the dueling op-ed thing

(NEWSER) - Liberals should be neither shocked nor appalled by Barack Obama’s inaugural invitation to anti-gay pastor Rick Warren, EJ Dionne writes in the Washington Post. His colleague Richard Cohen begs to differ, however, so the two duke it out in their columns today. Cohen says Obama has decided to “honor a bigot” and is refusing once again to take moral leadership, treating a civil rights issue “as some sort of cranky cultural difference.” More»

The Real Loser at the Pastor Rick-Quisition: America

Warrren's examination of candidates' faith was absolutely un-American

(NEWSER) - Discussion of whether John McCain or Barack Obama "won" Saturday’s Saddleback inquisition misses the point, Kathleen Parker writes in the Washington Post. When the presidential candidates are publicly interrogated on their beliefs by a minister, even one as exemplary as Rick Warren, the only winner is the minister—and the biggest loser is America. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Young Evangelical Vote Is Up For Grabs