Why did Evangelical Christians prefer Reagan to Carter in the 1980 US Presidential Election?

As a Southern Baptist, Jimmy Carter was initially appealing to white evangelicals. In 1976, Carter won 49 percent of the evangelical vote (and 56 percent of the white Baptist vote) against Gerald Ford. By 1980, Carter had managed to systematically alienate white evangelicals on a host of issues, and 67 percent of the white evangelical vote went to Ronald Reagan (62 percent of white non-evangelicals voted the same way).

Culture Wars

Part of the reason that Carter lost support was because throughout the 1970s white American evangelicals, particularly Southern Baptists, were being drawn into what scholar James Davidson Hunter has dubbed the "culture wars." Evangelical thinker Francis Shaeffer for example began to urge believers to consider abortion to be a great moral evil, and he also began to nurture close ties with the Republican Party (even visiting Gerald Ford in the White House). In 1974 West Virginia had a controversy over the content of school textbooks, with parents objecting to content that they argued "profaned God and the Bible" and was "anti-white," such as readings from James Baldwin. Republicans opposed these textbooks. Senator Jesse Helms tried to get the party to adopt a platform statement in 1976 preventing federal funding from going to help purchase them. White evangelicals were also deeply upset that teacher led school prayer was no longer permitted in public schools, and contemplated a constitutional amendment to bring it back.

Evangelicalism was changing rapidly in the 1970s. In 1979 a group of what the press at the time called "ultra-conservatives" took over the Southern Baptist Convention, moving to eliminate a more politically and theologically moderate group. Ostensibly this was a theological debate, but it was also political. In 1980 the new leaders of the convention denounced evolution, homosexuality, pornography, and abortion. They made no secret they sympathized with Republican views.

Carter's Positions on Social Issues

Carter not only did not support white evangelicals on these social issues, he took stances that were increasingly at odds with them. He publicly supported feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment, which many white evangelicals saw as a threat to "traditional" gender roles. In 1980, Carter hosted the White House Council on Families (WHCF), and selected mostly socially liberal groups to attend. Tim LaHaye and other white evangelical leaders organized a protest, the America Pro-Family Conference, which had keynotes by Jerry Falwell and Jesse Helms.

Probably the biggest concern white evangelicals had with Carter was his openness to gay rights. Though Carter said he personally was opposed to homosexuality, he denounced discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and suggested he might be willing to sign a bill for gay rights. His campaign paid for ads in gay and lesbian periodicals, and allowed White House aides to meet with gay leaders. By modern standards Carter could hardly be called an advocate for gay rights, but he went too far for white evangelicals.

Reagan Courts Evangelicals

By 1979, there was a religious right, which was formally organized in organizations like Christian Voice. It fiercely supported Reagan. But Reagan and the Republicans also directly courted white evangelical support.

In 1976, for example, the Republicans adopted an anti-abortion plank to the party platform. In 1980, they added a plank opposing the Equal Rights Amendment, a reversal of the Republican Party's previous support for the ERA. Reagan also endorsed the teaching of creationism in schools and called evolution "only a theory." He spoke favorably about school prayer.

Reagan made sure to visit with evangelicals, speaking at Liberty Baptist College (which would become Liberty University) in Lynchburg, Virginia. He added evangelical Beverly LaHaye to his campaign as a "family policy" adviser. It was clear to white evangelicals that Reagan was trying to say he would carry out their social agenda.

Many on the religious right also liked Reagan's hawkish stance towards the USSR. These white evangelicals particularly detested communism, which they saw as opposed to Christianity. Carter's support for SALT II and nuclear arms control made him seem weak to them.

Conclusion

Despite being an evangelical, Carter was too socially liberal to suit most white evangelicals, who were moving in a more politically and theologically conservative direction by 1980. Reagan, on the other hand, was not an evangelical, but catered to their interests. This proved a winning strategy for Republicans, who since 1980 have reliably counted on white evangelical voters as a key constituency.

However, it is worth observing that since 1980, not all theologically conservative Christians vote Republican. Black Baptists, who some scholars would label as being evangelicals, have been among the most reliable supporters of the Democratic Party.