Books by Mark A. Smith

A grossly fabulous adventure set in the competitive world of superheroes.

One of the unquestioned assumptions of the culture wars gripping our country is the gulf between the social and moral values of each side. And since those values--on at least one side--are often rooted in religious beliefs and doctrines, the chances of finding lasting common ground are thought to be slim. Mark A. Smith's timely book provocatively takes a contrary view: religion is not nearly the unchanging, conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. To make his case, Smith explores five contentious issues in America's history: slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and women's rights. In every instance he shows how the political views of even very conservative Christians have evolved in the same direction as the rest of society. Over time, the doctrines and policies of America's Christian religious traditions shift to conform to contemporary societal norms and culture. He also uncovers the various coping strategies America's churches and clergy have adopted when their doctrines are no longer in step with the views of their congregations. While it is true that during periods of cultural transition religious leaders often will resist prevailing values and behaviors, those same leaders just as often acquiesce once their positions become no longer tenable. And when they do, secular ideas and influences often shape how they revise their biblical interpretations. Ultimately, the strongest predictors of people's moral beliefs are not their religious convictions, or lack of them, but rather when and where they were born. Christians in America today hold more in common morally and politically with their atheist neighbors than with the Christians of earlier centuries.

Political analyst Mark Smith offers the most original and compelling explanation yet of why America has swung to the right in recent decades. How did the GOP transform itself from a party outgunned and outmaneuvered into one that defines the nation's most important policy choices? Conventional wisdom attributes the Republican resurgence to a political bait and switch--the notion that conservatives win elections on social issues like abortion and religious expression, but once in office implement far-reaching policies on the economic issues downplayed during campaigns. Smith illuminates instead the eye-opening reality that economic matters have become more central, not less, to campaigns and the public agenda. He analyzes a half century of speeches, campaign advertisements, party platforms, and intellectual writings, systematically showing how Republican politicians and conservative intellectuals increasingly gave economic justifications for policies they once defended through appeals to freedom. He explains how Democrats similarly conceived economic justifications for their own policies, but unlike Republicans they changed positions on issues rather than simply offering new arguments and thus helped push the national discourse inexorably to the right. The Right Talk brings clarity, reason, and hard-nosed evidence to a contentious subject. Certain to enrich the debate about the conservative ascendancy in America, this book will provoke discussions and reactions for years to come.