Cultural agendas

The left isn’t motivated by economic policy | Gene Edward Veith

Krieg Barrie/WORLD

As Republicans bicker over who is or is not a "real conservative," some people want to write social conservatives—mainly Christians concerned with moral issues—out of the conservative movement.

True conservatism, according to this line, has to do with free-market, pro-business economics; a smaller government; and personal liberty. Christians fighting against a woman's right to choose an abortion are violating the principle of individual liberty, and the social conservatives opposing gay marriage want to bring the government into the bedroom.

While true political and economic conservatives will protect the rights of religious people, so the thinking goes, religiously informed moral beliefs have no place in the political arena. Nor should the government ever be so powerful that it can shape the culture, which must be free to develop according to its own dynamics.