Jimmy Carter’s passing marks not only the loss of a devoted peacemaker but also the end of a notable chapter in American religious history: progressive evangelicalism.
Rooted in the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century, this tradition shaped much of the era’s social and political reform, driven by evangelicals striving to align society with the teachings of Jesus, particularly His call to care for “the least of these.” Carter’s integrity, life, and career are inseparable from the principles of this distinguished movement.
Jimmy Carter’s 1980 electoral defeat to Ronald Reagan and the rise of the Religious Right marked a turning point for progressive evangelicalism, delivering a crippling blow to the tradition. This election solidified the alignment of white evangelicals with the far-right wing of the Republican Party—a shift that eventually culminated in overwhelming support for Donald Trump, a figure far removed from the “family values” evangelicals once championed. Over time, the Religious Right became a cornerstone of the GOP, much like labor unions had once been for the Democratic Party.
Carter’s successful 1976 presidential campaign was fueled by widespread public disillusionment with traditional politicians in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Exhausted by Richard Nixon’s deceit, Americans sought a leader with integrity and a moral compass. Carter, a one-term Georgia governor and Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher from the small town of Plains, emerged as the ideal antidote to Washington’s tarnished image.
Carter’s election was bolstered by a brief revival of progressive evangelicalism in the 1970s—a tradition of Christianity he exemplified. While figures like Jim Wallis and William Barber II, along with institutions like Sojourners and the Black church, have worked to sustain this legacy, they have struggled to compete with the powerful media platforms wielded by conservative leaders like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Franklin Graham.
A key factor in the effectiveness of the Religious Right was their skillful use of victimization rhetoric. Despite wielding significant influence due to their numbers and political mobilization, evangelicals portray themselves as an embattled minority, claiming their values are under attack. This narrative has resonated deeply, contributing to white evangelicals’ overwhelming support for Trump, who communicates this message more powerfully than anyone else.
The decline of progressive evangelicalism has paved the way for a compromise on core evangelical principles, including the separation of church and state. While evangelicals have long benefited from the freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment, many now push the false narrative that the United States is, and always has been, a Christian nation, advocating for laws to reflect “Christian” values. The Religious Right’s stance on abortion, though rooted in a desire to obscure the true origins of evangelical mobilization, has been politically effective, despite the contradiction in the Dobbs decision, which calls for government intervention in reproductive matters.
With Carter’s passing, the far-right shift in political evangelicalism is now complete. However, history will remember the profound impact that progressive Christians like Carter had on American life.
Progressive evangelicalism has its roots in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament and draws from a long history in America. Jesus called his followers to be peacemakers and to care for society’s most vulnerable. Throughout U.S. history, progressive evangelicals have strived to live out these commands. In the antebellum period, they worked to promote peace and abolish slavery, despite many Southern evangelicals defending the practice. They also championed women’s equality, including the right to vote, and supported the expansion of public education to help children from lower-income families improve their lives.
The fight against slavery marked the peak of progressive evangelicals’ influence, but their impact persisted into the early 20th century. William Jennings Bryan, the “Great Commoner” and three-time Democratic presidential nominee, continued to champion women’s rights and workers’ rights to organize.
After the 1925 Scopes trial, however, evangelicals largely retreated from the political stage. While Bryan technically won the trial (John T. Scopes was convicted), the public backlash from his defense of anti-evolution laws tarnished his reputation and, by extension, the evangelical movement. Humiliated by the media coverage and Bryan’s performance, many evangelicals turned away from politics, with some even refusing to vote during the mid-20th century, anticipating the imminent return of Jesus. They viewed the world as corrupt and transient, focusing more on individual salvation than social reform. Political engagement, when it did occur, tended to lean right, driven by fears of “godless communism” and reinforced by Billy Graham’s public associations with Republican politicians.
In the early 1970s, however, progressive evangelicalism experienced a revival. Amid the Vietnam War, progressive evangelicals sought to reclaim Jesus’ call for peacemakers. They rallied behind the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern, a Wesleyan Methodist preacher’s son and former seminary student. Following McGovern’s defeat, a small group of progressive evangelicals gathered at the Chicago YMCA in November 1973, determined to revive their tradition. The result was the Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern, a powerful restatement of evangelical social concerns from a century earlier. The Declaration, initially signed by 55 individuals (with many more joining later), called out systemic issues like racism, militarism, poverty, and hunger, and reaffirmed the evangelical commitment to women’s equality, thanks to the influence of an English professor from Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois.