For conservative Christians, there has always been a tension between the church and the polis. Should Christians try to influence the state, to make America into a Christian society? Or should they focus on church and community, living in a world apart? Over the past 20 years, the pendulum has swung toward greater Christian participation in politics. But now it seems to be swinging back again. This collection of essays on the pivotal 1998 mid-term Congressional election examines why.

When the Republicans swept the House in 1994, the power of the Gingrichian coalition appeared to be ascendant; a short four years later, the Democrats won a majority of seats. These detailed state-level studies provide a close analysis of the events of 1998. Their basic conclusion is that the Christian Right was too closely focussed on Clinton's impeachment, which most Americans opposed. Now, many Christian leaders think they should go back to the stance they took following the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1924, when fundamentalists began their long retreat from mainstream America. If occasionally dry, this collection of articles provides the political context for the changing theological and philosophical positions of the Christian Right.