Moral Majority facts for kids
The Moral Majority was a group in the United States that focused on politics. It was connected to Christian conservative ideas and the Republican Party. Jerry Falwell Sr., a Baptist minister, started it in 1979 with some friends. The group stopped working in the late 1980s.
The Moral Majority was very important in getting conservative Christians involved in politics. It especially helped Republican presidents win elections in the 1980s.
Oxford Dictionaries describes it as a "right-wing movement in the US formed in the 1970s."
Contents
How the Moral Majority Started
Early Ideas (Before 1979)
The idea for the Moral Majority began around 1976. That's when Jerry Falwell Sr., a Baptist minister, started holding "I Love America" events across the country. He wanted to make people aware of social issues he cared about.
Falwell decided to get involved in politics, which was a change for him. Many Baptists believed religion and politics should be separate. But Falwell felt that the country's morals were getting worse, so he felt he needed to act. These events helped him see how much support there was for a formal group. They also made him a more well-known leader. Because he already knew many ministers, he was ready to start the Moral Majority a few years later.
In 1979, some leaders like Paul Weyrich and Richard Viguerie asked Jerry Falwell Sr. to create the Moral Majority. This was when a new movement called the New Christian Right was growing. Ed McAteer also joined Falwell. He started another group called the Religious Roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee, that same year.
Starting the Group and Its Growth
Falwell and Weyrich officially started the Moral Majority in June 1979. It quickly became a strong political force.
The Moral Majority was mostly active in the Southern United States, but it also had groups in other states. It grew very fast. By 1980, it had groups in eighteen states. This quick growth was possible because Falwell already had many resources. For example, he had a large mailing list from his TV show, Old Time Gospel Hour. The Moral Majority also took over the show's magazine, Journal Champion.
Throughout the 1980s, Falwell was the most famous person speaking for the group. By 1982, the Moral Majority was bigger and had more influence than other similar groups.
The main office of the Moral Majority was in Lynchburg, Virginia. This is where Falwell led one of the largest independent Baptist churches, Thomas Road Baptist Church. Virginia was an important state for Christian conservative politics.
Falwell led the Moral Majority and had an advisory board. This board was mostly made up of other Baptist leaders. Falwell also wanted Catholics and Jews to be part of the leadership, even though not everyone agreed with this idea.
The Moral Majority was made of different political groups that campaigned on issues they believed were important for Christian moral laws. They thought their views represented what most Americans believed. The Moral Majority became one of the biggest conservative lobby groups in the U.S. At its peak, it said it had over four million members and more than two million people who donated money. These members were in about twenty state groups.
In 1985, the Moral Majority became part of a larger group called the Liberty Federation. It was still its own group but was under the Liberty Federation. In 1987, Falwell stepped down as the official head of the Moral Majority. Jerry Nims took over, but Falwell still played a very active role.
Why the Group Ended
By the end of Ronald Reagan's time as president, many Christian conservative groups were becoming less active. After Reagan had been president for eight years, people felt the country was not in as much "moral danger" as before. So, fewer people were donating money.
The Moral Majority's money problems were a big reason why it decided to close down. Falwell said that the group had achieved its goals. In 1989, when he announced the end of the Moral Majority in Las Vegas, he said, "Our goal has been achieved... The religious right is solidly in place and religious conservatives in America are now in for the duration."
What the Moral Majority Wanted
The Moral Majority wanted to get conservative Americans involved in politics. They used different ways to get support. These included sending mail, using phone hotlines, holding rallies, and broadcasting on religious TV. Even though the Moral Majority only lasted for about ten years, it quickly became a noticeable political group and was good at getting people involved.
Experts say the Moral Majority was successful because:
- It started with a lot of money already available.
- Its leaders talked to members often, so everyone heard the same messages.
- Its leaders usually had experience running organizations.
- The public was open to the issues the Moral Majority talked about.
Some of the issues the Moral Majority supported were:
- Promoting traditional family values.
- Opposing media that they felt went against families.
- Opposing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and arms control talks.
- Opposing government acceptance of homosexual acts.
- Supporting Christian prayers in schools.
Focus on Families
The Moral Majority successfully brought together different issues under the idea of "traditional family values". They said that things like divorce, feminism, and the Equal Rights Amendment were attacks on the traditional American family. They connected with many evangelicals who felt that society's morals were declining.
They also pushed for prayer in schools and tax breaks for married couples to protect the traditional family. Through this "pro-family" message, they got many supporters. They spread their ideas through their network of preachers and mailings.
The Moral Majority defined a family as "two heterosexual parents." This idea appealed to many conservatives.
How the Group Was Organized
The Moral Majority was made up of four main parts:
- Moral Majority Inc. – This part focused on lobbying, which means trying to influence laws at local, state, and national levels.
- Moral Majority Foundation – This part was for education. It taught ministers and regular people about political issues and helped register voters.
- Moral Majority Legal Defense Fund – This part handled legal matters. It mostly challenged groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and issues related to secular humanism in court.
- Moral Majority Political Action Committee – This part helped support politicians who shared the Moral Majority's values.
The state groups of the Moral Majority managed their own money and activities. The national group encouraged them to follow its policies but didn't have much control over what they did locally. The national office usually focused on many issues in Congress, while local groups often worked on one specific issue in their state.
Getting Involved in Politics
The Moral Majority got involved in politics in many ways. They ran national media campaigns and organized people at the local level to support certain candidates in elections. They also used mail and phone calls to reach elected officials.
At first, the Moral Majority focused on supporting a law proposed by Jesse Helms about school prayer. Soon, they became very involved in presidential elections and national politics. However, state groups continued to work on specific issues in their own states.
For elections, state Moral Majority groups often focused their efforts on particular candidates. For example, in 1980, they worked to remove liberal members of Congress. In 1981, they helped gather supporters for an evangelical candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia.
Nationally, the Moral Majority encouraged its members to vote. They held voter registration drives in churches. They believed that if church-goers registered, they would vote for candidates the Moral Majority supported. Leaders asked ministers to guide their church members on when and who to vote for, and why the Moral Majority held certain views.
The Moral Majority is perhaps best known for its role in presidential elections, especially those of Ronald Reagan.
Presidential Elections
When Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976, it was a big moment for evangelical Christians. He was the first self-proclaimed evangelical Christian to become president. This brought more attention to evangelical Christianity. However, despite sharing the same religious background, evangelical Christians and the new Moral Majority were disappointed with Carter's policies. Carter did not mix his personal religious beliefs with his political decisions.
1980 Election
The Moral Majority supported Reagan early on, even before the Republican convention. Jimmy Carter said that in the fall of 1980, a group led by Jerry Falwell spent $10 million on TV and radio ads in the South. These ads tried to make Carter look like he was against the South and no longer a Christian.
The Moral Majority continued to work for Reagan after he became the Republican candidate. Because of the group's influence, more than one-fifth of Moral Majority supporters who had voted for Carter in 1976 voted for Reagan in 1980. After Reagan won, Falwell said that Reagan's success was directly due to the Moral Majority and others who registered church-goers to vote.
Reagan asked for advice from the Moral Majority leaders during his campaign. He even appointed Rev. Robert Billings, the Moral Majority's first executive director, as a religious advisor. Later, Reagan gave Billings a job in the Department of Education. This was very important for the Moral Majority, as they had been working on education issues, especially those about private schools.
1984 Election
The Moral Majority continued to support Reagan for his reelection campaign in 1984. Along with other Christian conservative groups, they influenced the Republican Party's platform for the election. Even though Reagan won reelection, the Moral Majority's role in his victory had changed since 1980. Some studies suggested that people who were against the Moral Majority voted more for Walter Mondale than those who supported the Moral Majority voted for Reagan. This might mean the Moral Majority had a negative effect on Reagan's campaign in 1984.
1988 Election
The 1988 election was the last presidential election where the Moral Majority was active. Since Reagan couldn't run again, many people wanted to be the Republican candidate. Pat Robertson, an evangelical minister, tried to get the Republican nomination. It seemed like the Moral Majority would naturally support him because his political ideas were very similar to theirs.
However, Falwell chose to support George H. W. Bush instead. This decision showed the rivalry between Falwell and Robertson, who were both famous TV preachers. It also showed the differences between Falwell's fundamentalist beliefs and Robertson's charismatic beliefs.
Challenges to the Moral Majority
By 1987–88, many people questioned the Moral Majority's views, and the group started to weaken. As its support decreased, critics said, "The Moral Majority is neither," meaning it was neither moral nor represented a majority of people. By 1988, the group had serious money problems, and Falwell closed it down in 1989.
Other Christian Leaders
During its time, the Moral Majority had disagreements with other Christian leaders and groups, as well as with liberal groups. For example, Bob Jones III often spoke out against the Moral Majority. Such disagreements affected the Moral Majority's efforts at the local level. In South Carolina, for instance, the Moral Majority didn't have much presence because Bob Jones University already had a strong religious network there. The disagreements between Falwell and Pat Robertson also affected the Moral Majority.
Norman Lear
On the opposite side of the political spectrum, Norman Lear, a liberal TV producer, started an organization called People for the American Way. He created this group specifically to oppose the ideas of the Moral Majority and other Christian conservative organizations.
Moral Majority Coalition
In November 2004, Falwell brought back the Moral Majority name for a new group called the Moral Majority Coalition. The goal of this new group was to continue the "evangelical revolution" and help conservative politicians get elected. Falwell called it a "21st century resurrection of the Moral Majority." He planned to lead the group for four years, but he passed away on May 15, 2007.
Notable People in the Movement
- Ed Dobson
- Jerry Falwell Sr. (founder)
- Robert Grant
- Jesse Helms
- D. James Kennedy
- Beverly LaHaye
- Tim LaHaye
- Trent Lott
- Jerry Prevo
- Judith A. Reisman
- Pat Robertson
- James Robison
- Charles Stanley
- Cal Thomas
- Richard Viguerie
- George Wallace
- Paul Weyrich
- Penny Pullen
See also
- Save Our Children
- Seven Mountain Mandate
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021 film)
