Short Answer on President Reagan
President Ronald Reagan served as president from 1980-1988 (officially 1981-1989). Many scholars, political pundits, and presidential history gurus regularly mention the strong base that Reagan had in the religious right. This segment of society found a champion for many of the religiously-based values that they held dear in the candidacy of Reagan. If we consider that Reagan had been divorced, gained his notoriety as an actor in Hollywood, and served as the governor of the now-recognized “liberal” state of California, why did conservative Christians embrace this man as their president over, say, John Anderson (who fit the bill even better)? Related to a great thread in last week’s forum, did the acceptance of Reagan (and, hence, these qualities described above) signal a change in the evolution of religious (read: conservative Christians’) Americans’ acceptance of certain moral standards?
