Born Again: The Christian Right Globalized

by Jennifer S. Butler

Religion has continued to have an impact on international concerns in the modern era. While Islam has been under the microscope in recent years, Christianity has also been influential in ways that often fly This book is a gripping exposé of the power of the Christian Right worldwide—and in particular their influence within the United Nations. A former NGO representative at the United Nations, Jennifer S. Butler provides the first insider's account of the strategies and effectiveness of Christian Right lobbying campaigns within the United Nations. Drawing on personal interviews with Christian Right leaders, she analyzes the impact they have already had—and what the future may hold.

Butler reveals how today's most powerful Christian Right organizations are building interfaith coalitions. At the United Nations, groups like Focus on the Family and Concerned Women for America are working with Catholic, Mormon, and Muslim allies to advance a conservative social policy agenda. The United States has recently joined that alliance. President George W. Bush has given them a significant voice in shaping U.S. positions on issues including women's rights, reproductive health, human cloning, children's rights, and AIDS.

In short, the Christian Right is globalizing—a phenomenon that promises to challenge progressive social policy on a worldwide scale—as well as transform the Christian Right itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2006

Reviews

[Anouk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 2006 and is now a bit outdated but the trends and ideas it points out are very much true today. I write this review as a student living on a university campus and though this campus is not the UN, I can see how Butler's observations are playing out. She wrote about how conservative churches are making successful attempts at recruiting youth while mainline churches (which tend to be progressive) fade into the background by assuming that their decline is a given. She wrote about how the Christian Right excels at networking and is actively training youth to advance their agenda while the Christian Left lags behind. In short, while the right fights for representation at the UN, in the wake of the success of the Civil Rights Movement, the left has become complacent.

Specifically on my campus, the conservative Christian groups have active social media and promise small group bonding, pizza parties, worship sessions, a yearly Christmas banquet, weekly soup dinners, weekend retreats, and more. Meanwhile, the only liberal Christian group has a spotty social media presence and their events largely consist of quiet worship and going on walks together. I'd imagine if someone was new to Christianity that the conservative groups here would not only be much easier to find but would also seem far more attractive.

Butler also points out that Christianity is not a monolith. This is something I have to remind myself as even I find myself automatically assuming Christians are conservative, and I grew up in (and still sporadically attend) a liberal church.

Though this book is short, it was not necessarily a quick read, but it has a lot of valuable information.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an eye opener! A must read for people who want to learn more about corruption within religions and how it effects the global issues that face us today.