# What accounts for the rise of neo-conservatism in the early eighties? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 14, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347 "2004-06-14T20:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/21 "2004-06-16T01:54:17Z")
Where did anyone get the idea that neoconservatives are religious, let alone driven by evangelical Christianity??? Virtually all the leading neoconservatives are JEWISH, and not particularly observant ones, at that. If you didn’t know that, I’ll thank you not to throw around words or phrases like “neoconservative,” until you’ve learned what it actually means. Pssst- hint to all liberals: it does NOT mean “any conservative I don’t like.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/22 "2004-06-16T03:04:23Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Where did anyone get the idea that neoconservatives are religious, let alone driven by evangelical Christianity??? > > Virtually all the leading neoconservatives are JEWISH, and not particularly observant ones, at that. Perfectly true, **astorian,** but a lot of American evangelical Protestants have allied themselves with the neocon agenda. From _The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America,_ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (New York: The Penguin Press, 2004), p. 215: > [@](#): > > Indeed, this [the September 11 attacks] reinforced one of the strangest marriages in the conservative movement. The Religious Right has been pro-Israel since at least the 1970s. Evangelicals believe that the Second Coming will take place in Israel – and that it will be preceded by the conversion of the Jews to Christianity; thus, both the Jews and Israel need to be saved in order to fulfill their dual roles in Christian eschatology. The highlight of the Christian Coalition’s 2002 conference was a rally for Israel. Fundamentalist congregations spend millions to subsidize Jewish settlements. Go to fundamentalist churches and you will find prayers to let Israel keep the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria. > > You mihgt think that, as secular intellectuals, the neocons would have found this eschatological brew a bit too strong for their tastes, and that, as Jews, they would balk at being assigned to a bit role in the Christian revelation. But the neocons have always been remarkably good at biting their lips on these subjects, treating Christian fundamentalism as something of a Straussian “noble myth” – it might be nonsense, but it advances the conservative cause. Sometimes they break ranks – Bill Kristol supported John McCain’s attempt to end the Religious Right’s stranglehold on the GOP – but his father’s infinite tolerance for the Religious Right’s peccadilloes was a much more typical neoconservative position. In one essay, Irving Kristol praised the Religious Right for its vital role in creating the Reagan majority – and conveniently forgot to mention the fact that Pat Robertson had said some pretty terrible things about the Jews. Which relates directly to the OP. Why has American conservatism been in the ascendant since the 1980s? Mainly because of a vigorous alliance and synergy between various branches of American conservatism – economic-libertarian conservatives, big-business interests, religious conservatives, and foreign-policy neocons. This does nothing, however, to explain the rise of conservative movements in other countries with completely different cultural traditions and conditions. For instance, there is no religious right to speak of in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/23 "2004-06-16T03:38:10Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Where did anyone get the idea that neoconservatives are religious, let alone driven by evangelical Christianity??? Because “neoconservative” has become a bogeyman to scare little children with by people who don’t know what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/24 "2004-06-16T03:44:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Perfectly true, **astorian,** but a lot of American evangelical Protestants have allied themselves with the neocon agenda. No, they haven’t. Neoconservatives and members of the religious right just happen to agree on a single policy position, for different reasons. You can find a lot of liberals who support Israel, too, but nobody would say there’s a neoconservative-liberal alliance. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/25 "2004-06-16T04:06:45Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Unless they were anti-communist dictatorships. In which case, he could overlook a death squad or two. Overlook-ha! He’d crawl right into bed with them and declare them the “moral equivalent of our founding fathers!” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347/26 "2004-06-16T05:17:40Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > T…The US is a very conservative country. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Well, except for me. And him. And her, and her, and those folks over there. And increasingly, you. bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accounts-for-the-rise-of-neo-conservatism-in-the-early-eighties/250347.md?page=1)