On March 30, Americans lined up at bookstores across the
country, awaiting the release of a long-anticipated novel. No, it
wasn't a new installment of the Harry Potter series;
rather, it was Glorious Appearing, the latest installment
of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' 12-volume apocalyptic Left
Behind series.
Since the release of the first book, Left Behind, in
1995, the series has sold nearly 60 million copies worldwide. That
represents almost a billion dollars in sales of Left
Behind books alone, and there are additional revenues from
children's and young-adult books, videotapes, computer programs,
and even greeting cards based on the series. In a 2001 Barna
Research Group survey, 84% of the readers of the Left
Behind series identified themselves as born-again Christians
-- a demographic group wielding increasing economic and political
clout.
Born-Again Christians a Sizable Minority
When Gallup first asked Americans in 1976 whether they
considered themselves to be "born again," 35% said that they did.
That figure climbed steadily throughout the last quarter of the
20th century, and between 1993 and 2003 held fairly
steady in the low- to mid-40% range, according to aggregated survey
responses collected throughout each year*. The two exceptions were
36% and 39% readings in 1994 and 1996, respectively. The 2003
measurement is 42%.
Notwithstanding the possibility that the 42% is probably an
overestimate of the percentage of born-again Christians in the
United States (because some respondents may not understand the term
-- indeed many "born-again" Christians are not Protestants), the
fact remains that a substantial proportion of Americans have a
strong enough commitment to their Christian faith to identify
themselves as born-again. This is a huge group with a common
interest -- an opportunity that marketers have learned to tap in
recent years. The "born-again market" is a multibillion-dollar
industry, offering Christian books, music, movies, video games,
artwork, and even vacation cruise packages.
The Political Influence of Born-Again
Christians
When Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority -- a group made up
of politically and socially conservative Christians -- in 1979, he
envisioned the group having a major influence on the political
direction of the United States. Indeed, in the decade of its
existence, the Moral Majority did take high-profile stands on such
issues as abortion rights, homosexuality, and teaching creationism
in public schools. The Moral Majority was dissolved in 1989, but
the influence of born-again Christians on national politics is
still evident on these and other issues.
While there are sizable numbers of born-again Christians in both
political parties (and also among independents), the gap between
the percentages of Republicans and Democrats who identify as born
again has widened in the last 10 years. In 1994, 42% of Republicans
and 38% of Democrats said they were born again; in 2003, the
percentage of born-again Republicans was 49% and the percentage of
Democrats was 39%.
Born-again Christians also tend to give President George W. Bush
-- a conservative, born-again Christian -- higher approval ratings
than do those who are not born-again Christians. In November 2003
(when Gallup last asked respondents whether they are born again),
57% of born-again Christians said they approved of the job Bush was
doing, compared with 46% of those who said they are not born-again.
Bush's overall approval rating at the time was 51%.
Born-again Christians are not only a group that affects the
nation's economy, but also one with the potential to affect the
nation's politics. Currently that influence favors Bush and the
Republican Party.
*Results based on approximately 2,000 to 3,000 telephone
interviews conducted annually with American adults from 1993 to
2003.
