Editing Republican Party (United States) (section)

==== Christian right ====
{{Main|Christian right|Social conservatism in the United States}}
{{see also|Christian nationalism#United States|Bible Belt|United States anti-abortion movement|2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States}}
[[File:Us rep mike johnson official photo.jpg|thumb|150px|House Speaker [[Mike Johnson]] (2023-present)]]

Since the rise of the [[Christian right]] in the 1970s, the Republican Party has drawn significant support from [[evangelicals]], [[Mormons]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 27, 2015|title=Five things you should know about Mormon politics|url=https://religionnews.com/2015/04/27/five-things-know-mormon-politics/|access-date=July 16, 2020|website=Religion News Service|language=en-US|archive-date=July 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716204657/https://religionnews.com/2015/04/27/five-things-know-mormon-politics/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Traditionalist Catholicism|traditionalist]] [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholics]], partly due to [[opposition to abortion]] after ''[[Roe v. Wade]].''<ref name="Williams-2022">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Daniel K. |date=May 9, 2022 |title=This Really Is a Different Pro-Life Movement |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/south-abortion-pro-life-protestants-catholics/629779/ |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en |quote=This was not merely a geographic shift, trading one region for another, but a more fundamental transformation of the anti-abortion movement's political ideology. In 1973 many of the most vocal opponents of abortion were northern Democrats who believed in an expanded social-welfare state and who wanted to reduce abortion rates through prenatal insurance and federally funded day care. In 2022, most anti-abortion politicians are conservative Republicans who are skeptical of such measures. What happened was a seismic religious and political shift in opposition to abortion that has not occurred in any other Western country. |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510043840/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/south-abortion-pro-life-protestants-catholics/629779/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Christian right faction is characterized by strong support of [[Social conservatism|socially conservative]] and [[Christian nationalism|Christian nationalist]] policies.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references.<ref>{{cite book |author-last1=McDaniel|author-first1=Eric L.|author-last2=Nooruddin|author-first2=Irfan|author-last3=Shortle|author-first3=Allyson|date=2022 |title=The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lodoEAAAQBAJ |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781316516263|doi=10.1017/9781009029445|quote=White Christian Nationalists are today the base of the Republican Party and those who attacked the U.S. Capitol are drawn from their ranks.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 7, 2024 |title=First of Its Kind Survey Maps Support for Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States |url=https://www.prri.org/press-release/first-of-its-kind-survey-maps-support-for-christian-nationalism-across-all-50-states/ |access-date=June 15, 2024 |publisher=[[Public Religion Research Institute]] |language=en |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616030445/https://www.prri.org/press-release/first-of-its-kind-survey-maps-support-for-christian-nationalism-across-all-50-states/ |url-status=live |quote=At the national level, Christian nationalism is strongly linked to Republican Party affiliation, white evangelical Protestant affiliation, and higher church attendance.}}</ref><ref name="Whitehead-2020">{{cite book |author-last1=Whitehead|author-first1=Andrew L.|author-last2=Perry|author-first2=Samuel L.|date=2020 |title=Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDLNDwAAQBAJ |location=New York, New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190057909 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 8, 2023 |title=A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture |url=https://www.prri.org/research/a-christian-nation-understanding-the-threat-of-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-and-culture/ |access-date=June 16, 2024 |publisher=[[Public Religion Research Institute]] |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615070952/https://www.prri.org/research/a-christian-nation-understanding-the-threat-of-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-and-culture/ |url-status=live |quote=Partisanship is closely linked to Christian nationalist views. Most Republicans qualify as either Christian nationalism sympathizers (33%) or adherents (21%), while at least three-quarters of both independents (46% skeptics and 29% rejecters) and Democrats (36% skeptics and 47% rejecters) lean toward rejecting Christian nationalism. Republicans (21%) are about four times as likely as Democrats (5%) or independents (6%) to be adherents of Christian nationalism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Joseph O. |last2=Perry |first2=Samuel L. |last3=Whitehead |first3=Andrew L. |date=August 6, 2020 |title=Crusading for Moral Authority: Christian Nationalism and Opposition to Science |journal=Sociological Forum |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=587–607 |doi=10.1111/socf.12619 |quote=Christian nationalism has become a powerful predictor of supporting conservative policies and political candidates. This is in large part due to the Republican Party platform becoming synonymous with "restoring" the sacred values, moral superiority, unity, pride, and prosperity of America's mythic past.|hdl=1805/26816 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whitehead |first1=Andrew L. |last2=Perry |first2=Samuel L. |last3=Baker |first3=Joseph O. |date=25 January 2018 |title=Make America Christian Again: Christian Nationalism and Voting for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election |journal=Sociology of Religion |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=147–171 |doi=10.1093/socrel/srx070 |quote=The current study establishes that, independent of these influences, voting for Trump was, at least for many Americans, a symbolic defense of the United States' perceived Christian heritage. Data from a national probability sample of Americans surveyed soon after the 2016 election shows that greater adherence to Christian nationalist ideology was a robust predictor of voting for Trump...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lauter |first=David |date=February 17, 2024 |title=Will Republicans become a Christian nationalist party? Can they win if they do? |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2023-02-17/will-republicans-become-a-christian-nationalist-party-essential-politics |url-status=live |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405092338/https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2023-02-17/will-republicans-become-a-christian-nationalist-party-essential-politics |archive-date=April 5, 2024 |access-date=June 16, 2024|issn=0458-3035 |quote=The strength of Christian nationalist sentiment can be clearly seen in a wide range of issues that Republican elected officials have stressed, including efforts to curtail the rights and visibility of transgender people, but also some less obvious topics, such as immigration.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Whitehead |first1=Andrew L. |last2=Perry |first2=Samuel L. |date=February 17, 2024 |title=Is Christian nationalism growing or declining? Both. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/25/republicans-christian-nationalism-midterms/ |url-status=live |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616182922/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/25/republicans-christian-nationalism-midterms/ |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |access-date=June 16, 2024|issn=0190-8286 |quote=According to political scientists Stella Rouse and Shibley Telhami, most Republicans support declaring the United States a Christian nation. And Christian nationalists are running for office at all levels of government, from local school boards to presumptive presidential candidates. Though the numbers of those who claim Christian nationalist beliefs may decline, Christian nationalism's influence in public life only continues to grow.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Perry |first=Samuel |date=August 5, 2022 |title=After Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence  |url=https://theconversation.com/after-trump-christian-nationalist-ideas-are-going-mainstream-despite-a-history-of-violence-188055 |url-status=live |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601132553/https://theconversation.com/after-trump-christian-nationalist-ideas-are-going-mainstream-despite-a-history-of-violence-188055 |archive-date=June 1, 2024 |access-date=June 16, 2024 |issn=2201-5639 |quote=The presence of Christian nationalist ideas in recent political campaigns is concerning, given its ties to violence and white supremacy. Trump and his advisers helped to mainstream such rhetoric with events like his photo op with a Bible in Lafayette Square in Washington following the violent dispersal of protesters, and making a show of pastors laying hands on him. But that legacy continues beyond his administration.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cummings |first=Mike |date=March 15, 2022 |title=Yale sociologist Phil Gorski on the threat of white Christian nationalism |url=https://news.yale.edu/2022/03/15/yale-sociologist-phil-gorski-threat-white-christian-nationalism |url-status=live |work=Yale News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612195953/https://news.yale.edu/2022/03/15/yale-sociologist-phil-gorski-threat-white-christian-nationalism |archive-date=June 12, 2024 |access-date=June 16, 2024 |quote=White Christian nationalism is a dangerous threat because it's incredibly well-organized and powerful. There's absolutely nothing like it on the left.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Peter |date=February 17, 2024 |title=Many believe the founders wanted a Christian America. Some want the government to declare one now |url=https://apnews.com/article/american-founders-christian-nation-conservative-beliefs-4ea388e8d80c54016a6a4460cbef9b82 |url-status=live |work=The Associated Press |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219033711/https://apnews.com/article/american-founders-christian-nation-conservative-beliefs-4ea388e8d80c54016a6a4460cbef9b82 |archive-date=February 19, 2024 |access-date=February 22, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Politico Christian">{{cite web |last1=Rouse |first1=Stella |last2=Telhami |first2=Shibley |title=Most Republicans Support Declaring the United States a Christian Nation |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/21/most-republicans-support-declaring-the-united-states-a-christian-nation-00057736 |website=Politico |access-date=February 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927001816/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/21/most-republicans-support-declaring-the-united-states-a-christian-nation-00057736 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |date=September 21, 2022 |url-status=live|quote=Christian nationalism, a belief that the United States was founded as a white, Christian nation and that there is no separation between church and state, is gaining steam on the right. Prominent Republican politicians have made the themes critical to their message to voters in the run up to the 2022 midterm elections.}}</ref>}} Christian conservatives seek to use the teachings of [[Christianity]] to influence law and public policy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Margaret L. |last2=Taylor|first2=Howard Francis |date=2006 |title=Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LP9bIrZ9xacC&pg=PA469 |location=Belmont, CA |publisher=Thomson Wadsworth |page= |isbn=978-0-534-61716-5}}</ref> Compared to other Republicans, the socially conservative [[Religious right in the United States|Christian right]] faction of the party is more likely to oppose [[LGBT rights in the United States|LGBT rights]], [[Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States|marijuana legalization]], and support [[Abortion law in the United States by state|significantly restricting the legality of abortion]].<ref>{{cite book |author-first=Robert B. |author-last=Smith |title=Mediations of Social Life in the 21st Century |chapter=Social Conservatism, Distractors, and Authoritarianism: Axiological versus instrumental rationality |editor-first=Harry F. |editor-last=Dahms |date=2014|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing|isbn=9781784412227|page=101|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5V1BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA101|language=en}}</ref>

The Christian right is strongest in the [[Bible Belt]], which covers most of the [[Southern United States]].<ref>Brunn, Stanley D., Gerald R. Webster, and J. Clark Archer. "The Bible Belt in a changing south: Shrinking, relocating, and multiple buckles." ''Southeastern Geographer'' 51.4 (2011): 513–549. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26228980 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129031122/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26228980 |date=January 29, 2023 }}</ref> [[Mike Pence]], Donald Trump's vice president from 2017 to 2021, was a member of the Christian right.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/politics/mike-pence-religion.html|title=Mike Pence's Journey: Catholic Democrat to Evangelical Republican|last1=Mahler|first1=Jonathan|date=July 20, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 22, 2017|last2=Johnson|first2=Dirk|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114134505/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/politics/mike-pence-religion.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2023, a member of the Christian right faction, Louisiana representative [[Mike Johnson]], was elected the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Karni |first1=Annie |last2=Graham |first2=Ruth |last3=Eder |first3=Steve |title=For Mike Johnson, Religion Is at the Forefront of Politics and Policy |work=The New York Times |date=October 28, 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/27/us/politics/mike-johnson-speaker-religion.html }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-27 |title=Christian conservatives cheer one of their own as Mike Johnson assumes Congress' most powerful seat |url=https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-mike-johnson-christian-right-louisiana-9407f1e4b4c588f27f9510dd47c94fe8 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224023531/https://apnews.com/article/house-speaker-mike-johnson-christian-right-louisiana-9407f1e4b4c588f27f9510dd47c94fe8 |url-status=live }}</ref>