True, McGrath. But, unfortunately, they take on a prominence—or are given a prominence—that is far out of proportion with their numbers

The religious Right, predominently in the southern United States, made up particularly of the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference, plus a loose confederation of fundamentalist, Biblical literalist, and Pentecostal sects, make up a fairly substantial number of "Christians" in the U. S. They tend to be politically active. They are in general opposition to the idea of separation of church and state, insisting that "This is a Christian country," despite what it says in the U. S. Constitution.

At the same time, they cling to such things as the Second Amendment—the right to keep and bear arms—and other Constitutional stipulations that suit them. In short, they "cherry-pick" the Constitution in the same way they do with Biblical verses, taking, out of context, that which they feel supports their particular beliefs and prejudices while ignoring those parts that contradict or negate their position.

I don't have any figures as to comparative numbers, but a couple of things are certain:   the vast majority of the "electric preachers"—television and radio evangelists—are literalist/fundamentalists (Pat Roberson, Jimmie Swaggert, Jerry Falwell, Jim and Tammy Bakker, et al);   they are far more stridently vocal than moderate or liberal Christians (moderate and liberal in both the religious and political senses), who generally tend to work quietly in the background without blowing their own horns;    and, perhaps most importantly, the news media seems to concentrate almost solely on the pronouncements of the religious Right, usually with such preambles as, "Christians say. . . ." creating the impression that all Christians are in agreement when this is not the case at all!!

Pat Robertson's outrageous pronouncements ("The Haitian earthquake was God's punishment because the Haitians practice voodoo!") get quoted and re-quoted, while you almost never hear anything said by those such as Rev. Jim Wallis

You don't find moderate and liberal Christians backing you against a wall, stuffing tracts down your shirt, and demanding to know if you've "been washed in the Blood of the Lamb!??" Nor do they come in pairs, knock on your door, want to "evangelize" you by telling you all about Jesus (their version), and sell you copies of The Watchtower. Nor do their automobiles bear bumper-stickers saying "In case of Rapture, this car will be driverless!"

The church I often attend is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Their idea of "evangelizing" is not to buttonhole you on the street or corner you in your home, but to show by example. Which is to say, "Actions speak louder than words." And they model their actions on such things as what Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-41, which I quote in a post above.

Don Firth