Quiz for American Voices:
Christianity and Public Life

Question

1. In his speech before the National Association of American Evangelicals in 1983, Ronald Reagan said, “I want you to know that this administration is motivated by a political philosophy that sees the greatness of America in you, her people, and in your families, churches, neighborhoods, communities—the institutions that foster and nourish values like concern for others and respect for the rule of law under God.” These words stand as an example of President Reagan’s efforts toward which of the following goals?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. Reagan’s 1980 election depended in part on the New Right’s successful creation of a coalition between economic conservatives and religious conservatives, such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and the members of the Moral Majority. This speech is an example of many Ronald Reagan gave to assure religious conservatives that his administration continued to see their issues as central to his policies and programs.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Reagan’s 1980 election depended in part on the New Right’s successful creation of a coalition between economic conservatives and religious conservatives, such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and the members of the Moral Majority. This speech is an example of many Ronald Reagan gave to assure religious conservatives that his administration continued to see their issues as central to his policies and programs.

Question

2. In the passage titled, “Network Television as a Moral Danger,” Donald E. Wildmon, a Christian minister, wrote that, after watching television one night, “I became angry. I had been disturbed by the deteriorating of morals I had witnessed in the media and society during the previous twenty-five years. . . . Realizing that these changes were being brought into the sanctity of my home, I decided I could and would no longer remain silent.” This statement is an example of which of the following trends?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Donald Wildmon’s statement is an example of fundamentalist and evangelical Protestants’ decision to embrace political activism in order to promote their morality-based agenda at the national level. Wildmon went on to found the American Family Association, which lobbied for fundamentalist Christian values as the basis for public policy.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Donald Wildmon’s statement is an example of fundamentalist and evangelical Protestants’ decision to embrace political activism in order to promote their morality-based agenda at the national level. Wildmon went on to found the American Family Association, which lobbied for fundamentalist Christian values as the basis for public policy.

Question

3. In his speech to the entering class of Yale undergraduates in 1981, A. Bartlett Giamatti said, “Liberty protects the person from unwarranted government intrusions into a dwelling or other private places. In our tradition the State is not omnipresent in the home. And there are other spheres of our lives and existence, outside the home, where the State should not be a dominant presence.” With these remarks, Giamatti was rejecting which element of the New Right’s political agenda?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. In his speech, Giamatti rejected the New Right’s promotion of the agenda pushed by the so-called Moral Majority, which called for prayer in public schools, a ban on abortion, the criminality of homosexuality, and other limits on individual liberties.
Incorrect. The answer is d. In his speech, Giamatti rejected the New Right’s promotion of the agenda pushed by the so-called Moral Majority, which called for prayer in public schools, a ban on abortion, the criminality of homosexuality, and other limits on individual liberties.

Question

4. Anthony Kennedy was the last justice to be appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan. Which of the following individuals would most likely have agreed with the decision Kennedy wrote for the majority in the Lawrence v. Texas case of 2003?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. In this decision, Kennedy wrote that the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and that it was unconstitutional for the State of Texas to demean the existence of homosexuals or criminalize their sexual activities. Giamatti, an advocate of pluralism and opponent of “unwarranted government intrusions” into private life, would agree with this decision. As conservative Christians, Reagan, Wildmon, and Falwell would condemn it.
Incorrect. The answer is b. In this decision, Kennedy wrote that the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and that it was unconstitutional for the State of Texas to demean the existence of homosexuals or criminalize their sexual activities. Giamatti, an advocate of pluralism and opponent of “unwarranted government intrusions” into private life, would agree with this decision. As conservative Christians, Reagan, Wildmon, and Falwell would condemn it.