Freedom Writer - February 1994

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Coalition strategy courts minorities

Declaring that the Christian Right will no longer "concede the minority 
community to the political left," Christian Coalition executive director 
Ralph Reed recently announced plans to begin advertising on minority-owned 
radio stations and sending literature to black and Latino churches. 

The Coalition's _Christian_American_ (October 1993) newspaper ran 
a front-page photo of a black family to illustrate a new poll showing 
that black and Latino respondents hold conservative views on the issues 
of abortion, homosexuality, crime, welfare and affirmative action.

According to political sociologist and investigative journalist Sara 
Diamond, Reed presumably hopes the new mission of racial reconciliation 
embraced by evangelical churches and the Christian broadcasting networks 
will help him realize his political goals. She says that a recent 
report to the American Political Science Association on 1992 voting 
patterns found that for the first time religious fervor is a better 
predictor of political participation than religious denomination. 

"But," Diamond adds, "whether the new found inclusiveness of Christian
evangelicals will lead to political alliances that transcend race 
remains to be seen."	

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Copyright 1995 IFAS
The Freedom Writer / ifas@crocker.com

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