Perry’s Evangelical Morphing

Texas Governor Rick Perry has surged in polls since he announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination, and he has come under increased scrutiny, especially with his shoot-from-the-hip verbal style. Shortly before he announced, Perry’s Evangelicalism was widely examined when he hosted a massive prayer rally dubbed The Response. Now, The New Republic chronicles Perry’s morphing from Methodist to Evangelical, and the right-wing Christian groups he has welcomed into his fold. From the article:

Politically, he’s been looking to more contemporary, and radical, Christian movements as well. Since at least 2009, as reported in The Texas Observer, Perry has been meeting with ministers affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a loose network of charismatic Christians that espouse a form of Dominionism—the belief that Christians should dominate every facet of life, from government to the arts. (As Ryan Lizza recently documented in The New Yorker, Michele Bachmann aligns herself with some of these teachings.) Like Christian Right movements before them, NAR adherents deny the separation of church and state and actively encourage Christians to engage in politics. Known for apocalyptic, endtime theology and ecstatic worship, NAR followers speak in tongues and talk of prophecies, demons, and spiritual warfare. They have a habit of setting up houses of prayer in proximity to centers of power—for instance, near Harvard and close to the Supreme Court—believing their prayers can enact change upon institutions. One associated ministry, The Call, has been known to pack stadiums to pray against abortion and same-sex marriage. Perry’s prayer rally was modeled on those very gatherings.

Read the full article here.