It’s been a rather apocalyptic year for conservative Christians. The virtual collapse of America’s economy and moral standing under their Chosen leader, George W. Bush, left their credibility as an influence on governing in tatters. Their preferred candidate in the Republican primaries, Mike Huckabee, won the rural South but lost the rest of the country to a guy who used to call their leaders “agents of intolerance.” They cozied up to John McCain eventually, but the fervently devout Church Lady he chose for a running mate turned into a national joke. And then the guy they love to deride as a Muslim, if not the Antichrist, won the presidency by a comfortable margin and led an electoral sweep that left right-wing Christians without a single significant champion in Washington.

Even their one major victory on Election Day, in California’s battle over Prop 8, was tempered by the fact that it was bankrolled and driven to victory largely by the Mormon church, which evangelical Christians still hold highly suspect. (A corollary fact – that most Californians harbor intense Buyer’s Remorse over Prop 8 – can’t sit well either.) Since November, gay-marriage opponents have been forced to swallow defeats in Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa (Iowa!), with more states likely to fall to the hedonists and infidels in the near future. Just yesterday, New York Gov. David Paterson announced he’s introducing a gay-marriage bill in the state’s heavily Democratic legislature.

Meanwhile, church attendance is down, atheism and non-affiliation are up, abortion is still legal, vocal prayer is still banned from public schools, evolution is totally kicking creationism’s ass, stem cell research is being funded by the government, that Ten Commandments monument is in a basement somewhere rather than on the courthouse lawn, Lil Wayne is #1 on the charts, and Terri Schiavo is still … well, you get the picture. Hell, Newsweek even celebrated Easter with a cover story touting “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” Short of the Rapture arriving tomorrow – which, I recognize, many evangelicals would consider a blessing – could things get any worse for the Christian Right?

The fact is, the movement that began with Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority, and expanded through Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association, James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, and other groups, is just … about … wait for it … dead. Though we can expect the funeral to drag on for a while. (As Richard Pryor once famously quoted his father, “The dirt! Can we get to the part with the dirt?”) (more…)