This balanced and comprehensive study of Christian conservative
thinking focuses on the 1980s, when the New Christian Right
appeared suddenly as an influential force on the American political
scene, only to fade from the spotlight toward the end of the
decade. In
Redeeming America, Michael Lienesch identifies a
cyclical redemptive pattern in the New Christian Right's approach
to politics, and he argues that the movement is certain to emerge
again.
Lienesch explores in detail the writings of a wide range of
Christian conservatives, including Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson,
Phyllis Schlafly, and Tim and Beverly LaHaye, in order to
illuminate the beliefs and ideas on which the movement is based.
Depicting the thinking of these writers as a set of concentric
circles beginning with the self and moving outward to include the
family, the economy, the polity, and the world, Lienesch finds
shared themes as well as contradictions and tensions. He also
uncovers a complex but persistent pattern of thought that inspires
periodic attempts to redeem America, alternating with more
inward-looking intervals of personal piety.