Reading, Writing, and Reconstructionism: The Christian Right and the Politics of Public Education

Abstract

The U.S. Christian Right has been involved with the politics of education since its inception in the 1970s. This involvement has been greatly influenced by a theological justification of political activism, Christian Reconstructionism. Subsequently, much of the activity by the Christian Right involving public education tends to fall into two categories: re-Christianization and deinstitutionalization. This article presents a historical overview of these developments, provides an analytic framework to assess criticisms and activity by the Christian Right, and offers responses to this form of politicized theology.