Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Honors Paper

Degree Name

Political Science-BA

Department

History & Political Science

Advisor

Dr. David Merkowitz

First Committee Member

Dr. Nicholas Robinson

Second Committee Member

Dr. Karen Steigman

Keywords

Evangelical, Christians, Abortion, Pro-Life, Republican

Subject Categories

American Politics | Higher Education | Political Science

Abstract

Beginning in 1925, evangelical Protestants largely left American politics. During the late 1960s, the pro-life movement was a largely liberal, Roman Catholic cause focused on reversing liberal state abortion laws. After the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973), the political landscape changed dramatically. Over the next decade-and-a-half, evangelicals, including Southern Baptists, re-entered American politics, eventually becoming the face of the pro-life movement and the conservative Religious Right. Southern Baptists in particular, were motivated to join the pro-life movement by statements and material put out by prominent evangelicals, including books, documentaries, and biblical commentary material that laid out the scriptural basis for a pro-life stance. Through political organizations such as the Moral Majority, evangelicals elected politicians with strong pro-life views to help advance their agenda. Today, conservative evangelicals are staunchly pro-life, and are a mainstay of the Republican Party base, appealing to the Bible as their authority on abortion.

Licensing Permission

Copyright, all rights reserved. Fair Use

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Acknowledgement 2

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