Source: The Seattle Times
On January 26, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "former Sen. John Ashcroft is emblematic of the historical tension that evangelicals face when they take their faith into the marketplace of ideas. One recent survey found that self-identified 'evangelicals' make up one-fourth of the U.S. population. Yet despite their large numbers, evangelicals feel misunderstood, even persecuted, by the popular culture...Exit polls by Voter News Service showed that among self-identified members of 'the religious right,' a term many consider pejorative, 20 percent voted against President Bush in November. But polling conducted for California-based Barna Research found even greater opposition to Bush among self-identified 'born-again Christians,' with 42 percent voting for Al Gore." Evangelicals are often perceived as "rigid and threatening." When Joseph Lieberman was applauded for his strong religious faith, it seemed that politicians would no longer have to downplay their religious faith. "Not so with Ashcroft...Ashcroft's critics say their concern is with his stand on issues, not with the faith behind those stands. But some religious conservatives see something sinister that could discourage believers not only from entering politics, but also from applying their principles to academia, business and other endeavors." The term "evangelical" is often used in inconsistent ways. George Barna, an evangelical and head of the research organization on religion and values that bears his name, uses a stringent, nine-point standard, and his survey indicates that only 8% of the United States population is Evangelical. However, according to "a November survey by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan New York City research organization, 24 percent of Americans are self-identified evangelicals." Evangelicals seem to give faith a larger role in formation of policy than do other groups; "only 36 percent of evangelicals--compared with 60 percent of the general public--agreed that on the issue of gay rights, elected officials should be willing to compromise with others whose views are different." Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, says that there is still much ignorance of the fact that Evangelists can hold their religious beliefs and still inforce laws which go against those beliefs. "'The American political process is pretty rough on everybody,' said John Green, one of the country's leading scholars on religion and politics and a professor at the University of Akron. 'Religious people need to understand that their religion will not get them a bye in political debate."