According to a 2009 profile of Robert P. George in The New York Times, he is "a Roman Catholic who is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker." [1] If others on the Protestant Evangelical and Charismatic fringe that has flourished since Trump's election in 2016 are now challenging Professor George's influence, his …
According to a 2009 profile of Robert P. George in The New York Times, he is "a Roman Catholic who is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker." [1] If others on the Protestant Evangelical and Charismatic fringe that has flourished since Trump's election in 2016 are now challenging Professor George's influence, his Establishment CV ensures he will remain the nation's most presentable conservative Christian thinker.
One thing Professor George is not is a passive observer of the status quo. He is also a powerful, accomplished and highly respected activist cum culture warrior. As the profile opens, Professor George is the central figure of a gathering of influential figures on the Christian right:
"Alarmed at the liberal takeover of Washington and an apparent leadership vacuum among the Christian right, the group had come together to warn the country’s secular powers that the culture wars had not ended. As a starting point, George had drafted a 4,700-word manifesto that promised resistance to the point of civil disobedience against any legislation that might implicate their churches or charities in abortion, embryo-destructive research or same-sex marriage."
Later in the piece, readers learn that in 2009, before the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Robert P. George was "in many ways the public face of the conservative side in the most urgent culture-war battle of the day. The National Organization for Marriage, the advocacy group fighting same-sex marriage in Albany and Trenton, Maine and California, has made him its chairman. Before the 2004 election, he helped a coalition of Christian conservative groups write their proposed amendment to the federal Constitution defining marriage as heterosexual. . ."
It is therefore inaccurate to claim that the Professor "respects the rights and civil liberties guaranteed to all by the law . . ." That's because his activism aims to shape the law - including constitutional law - and society to fit his conservative religious beliefs. That is his right, of course, but in our society others - including justices of the Supreme Court - have the right to object to the social consequences of such advocacy. Professor George and his fellow activists on the Christian right have no compunction about running roughshod over the rights and civil liberties guaranteed to all by laws. That’s exactly what they did to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which is discussed in the comment that follows.
Moreover, the professor is much too sophisticated to "endorse or promote practices that violate the Constitution." Why should he do so when he and his fellow right wing activists can elicit opinions from a right-leaning, political Supreme Court that bless practices previously considered constitutionally impermissible? One need look no further than last term's 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, in which the Supreme Court gutted the accommodation clause of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act as it applies to gay people seeking marriage-related services. It would surprise no one if Professor George were pursuing Clarence Thomas’s open invitation to overturn the line of cases that include the one that established a constitutional right to gay marriage.
Before turning to 303 Creative in the next comment, it is necessary to probe the statement that “as a nonpartisan organization, we [at FAIR] stand by our commitment to engage individuals all along the political spectrum . . .” Having so thoroughly engaged the Christian right in the person of Professor George, which respected religious thinker on FAIR’s board of advisors represents the segment of the political spectrum that isn’t actively waging culture war against gay and lesbian Americans and their legal rights? As for the statement that “FAIR does not take a position on abortion or gay marriage. To act otherwise would make FAIR a partisan organization," with the nation’s most influential conservative Christian figure acting as FAIR’s advisor on religious matters, it would be superfluous for FAIR to take a position on gay marriage. We already know where FAIR stands.
According to a 2009 profile of Robert P. George in The New York Times, he is "a Roman Catholic who is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker." [1] If others on the Protestant Evangelical and Charismatic fringe that has flourished since Trump's election in 2016 are now challenging Professor George's influence, his Establishment CV ensures he will remain the nation's most presentable conservative Christian thinker.
One thing Professor George is not is a passive observer of the status quo. He is also a powerful, accomplished and highly respected activist cum culture warrior. As the profile opens, Professor George is the central figure of a gathering of influential figures on the Christian right:
"Alarmed at the liberal takeover of Washington and an apparent leadership vacuum among the Christian right, the group had come together to warn the country’s secular powers that the culture wars had not ended. As a starting point, George had drafted a 4,700-word manifesto that promised resistance to the point of civil disobedience against any legislation that might implicate their churches or charities in abortion, embryo-destructive research or same-sex marriage."
Later in the piece, readers learn that in 2009, before the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Robert P. George was "in many ways the public face of the conservative side in the most urgent culture-war battle of the day. The National Organization for Marriage, the advocacy group fighting same-sex marriage in Albany and Trenton, Maine and California, has made him its chairman. Before the 2004 election, he helped a coalition of Christian conservative groups write their proposed amendment to the federal Constitution defining marriage as heterosexual. . ."
It is therefore inaccurate to claim that the Professor "respects the rights and civil liberties guaranteed to all by the law . . ." That's because his activism aims to shape the law - including constitutional law - and society to fit his conservative religious beliefs. That is his right, of course, but in our society others - including justices of the Supreme Court - have the right to object to the social consequences of such advocacy. Professor George and his fellow activists on the Christian right have no compunction about running roughshod over the rights and civil liberties guaranteed to all by laws. That’s exactly what they did to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which is discussed in the comment that follows.
Moreover, the professor is much too sophisticated to "endorse or promote practices that violate the Constitution." Why should he do so when he and his fellow right wing activists can elicit opinions from a right-leaning, political Supreme Court that bless practices previously considered constitutionally impermissible? One need look no further than last term's 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, in which the Supreme Court gutted the accommodation clause of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act as it applies to gay people seeking marriage-related services. It would surprise no one if Professor George were pursuing Clarence Thomas’s open invitation to overturn the line of cases that include the one that established a constitutional right to gay marriage.
Before turning to 303 Creative in the next comment, it is necessary to probe the statement that “as a nonpartisan organization, we [at FAIR] stand by our commitment to engage individuals all along the political spectrum . . .” Having so thoroughly engaged the Christian right in the person of Professor George, which respected religious thinker on FAIR’s board of advisors represents the segment of the political spectrum that isn’t actively waging culture war against gay and lesbian Americans and their legal rights? As for the statement that “FAIR does not take a position on abortion or gay marriage. To act otherwise would make FAIR a partisan organization," with the nation’s most influential conservative Christian figure acting as FAIR’s advisor on religious matters, it would be superfluous for FAIR to take a position on gay marriage. We already know where FAIR stands.
[1] Kirkpatrick, David D . “The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker.” The New York Times. 16 December 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/magazine/20george-t.html