How Jimmy Carter Helped the Religious Right’s Rise to Power

Now, nearly 50 years later, it’s hard to imagine a time when being an evangelical or openly talking about one’s religious faith would be regarded as a liability for a presidential candidate, as many thought it was for Carter in 1976. Such things have become standard in American politics. And for Republicans hoping to make it to the White House, they are almost a prerequisite. When someone like Mike Pence says that he’s “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,” the former vice president knows he’s speaking in the language that the GOP’s white, evangelical base expects of its candidates.