Another BS issue that magats actually do not care about but they see it as a weapon for politics, and thus why magats should be ignored!
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American evangelicals turned decisively against abortion in the
late 1970s and early 1980s, pivoting away from a previous stance of indifference or support. [
1,
2]
When the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the 1973
Roe v. Wade decision, many high-profile evangelical figures—including leadership in the
Southern Baptist Convention—actually praised the ruling as a victory for religious liberty and personal bodily autonomy. The shift against it was not an immediate moral backlash, but rather a calculated political and cultural mobilization. [,
2,
3,
4]

The Timeline of the Turn
- 1968–1973 (Indifference): Evangelical publications and scholars openly debated abortion, generally viewing it as a Catholic issue or a medical matter rather than a core theological sin. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- 1973 (Roe v. Wade): High-profile leaders like W.A. Criswell (former president of the Southern Baptist Convention) initially supported the ruling. [1]
- 1978–1979 (The Turning Point): Political strategists and fundamentalist preachers began heavily promoting the anti-abortion cause to the evangelical masses. [1]
- 1980 (Full Alignment): By the 1980 presidential election, opposition to abortion became the defining, unifying litmus test for the evangelical "Religious Right," helping sweep Ronald Reagan into office. []

Why They Shifted (The Core Reasons)
1.
Political Mobilization by the "Religious Right" [
1]
Conservative political strategists like
Paul Weyrich and religious leaders like
Jerry Falwell saw a fractured evangelical voting base and needed a single, powerful issue to unite them into a dominant voting bloc. They established the Moral Majority in 1979, framing abortion not just as a medical procedure, but as a horrific symbol of America's moral decline. [
1,
2,
3]
2. The Backlash Over Christian School Segregation
Historians, including
Randall Balmer, note that the initial catalyst for the Religious Right's organization was not abortion, but rather a fight with the federal government over race. In the late 1970s, the IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of segregated Christian academies (like Bob Jones University). Because defending racial segregation was a bad public relations strategy, evangelical leaders pivoted to abortion as a more noble, populist "vessel" to fight government intrusion into their institutions. [
1,
2,
3,
5]
3. Anxiety Over the Sexual Revolution & Feminism
The 1970s brought rapid social change, including the rise of second-wave feminism, the push for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and shifting gender dynamics. Activists like
Phyllis Schlafly successfully tied abortion access to the destruction of the traditional nuclear family. Evangelicals viewed the legalization of abortion as the ultimate, destructive victory of secularism over traditional Christian morality. [,
2,
3]
4. The Influence of Media and Culture Campaigners
In 1979, evangelical theologian
Francis Schaeffer and future Surgeon General
C. Everett Koop released a highly influential anti-abortion film and book series called
Whatever Happened to the Human Race?. This media campaign traveled to churches across the country, using graphic imagery and philosophical arguments to successfully convince everyday churchgoers that human life began strictly at conception. [
1]