Young, Evangelical ... for Obama?

The Seattle Times has an article today that may indicate yet another problem for the GOP come November. Namely, the fact that some of the younger evangelicals may be moving to abandon the GOP and the mean, intolerant form of Christianity peddled by Daddy Dobson, et al. I know based on my own children and many of their friends that the Christianists are driving many of the younger voters to shun the GOP even when their parents remain within the GOP fold. Here are some story highlights:

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Michael Dudley is the son of a preacher man. He's a born-again Christian with two family members in the military. He grew up in the Bible Belt, where almost everyone he knew was Republican. But this fall, he's breaking a handful of stereotypes: He plans to vote for Democrat Barack Obama.

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Dudley's disenchantment with the GOP isn't unique among young, devoutly Christian voters. According to a September 2007 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 15 percent of white evangelicals between 18 and 29, a group traditionally a shoo-in for the GOP, say they no longer identify with the Republican Party. Older evangelicals are also questioning their traditional allegiance, but not at the same rate.

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But students at a recent bipartisan political union meeting at SPU say there's something more going on with young Christians than disenchantment with McCain. In an informal poll of the political union, the majority supported Obama. "I think it's a new movement starting," said Amy Archibald, 19, a sophomore at the evangelical school. "Most of us would never blindly follow the old Christian Right anymore. James Dobson has nothing to do with us. A lot of us are taking apart the issues, and thinking, 'OK, well, [none of the candidates] fits what I'm looking for exactly.' But if you're going to vote, you've got to take your pros with your cons."

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Young evangelicals are more of a swing constituency than they've been for decades, said Andy Crouch, an editor at Christianity Today, a national evangelical magazine. "This could turn out to be the election where both parties realize that the evangelical vote is so hopelessly split down the middle that it's not worth courting them at all because what parties need are blocs that can be appealed to en masse," Crouch said. "Paradoxically, evangelicals would become less relevant than ever before."