America in 1965: Religion, sex and what the secular left’s ‘theocrat’ charge misses

It has become commonplace in recent years for those on the left, especially those who are non-religious to accuse traditional religious people of attempting to impose their religious views on the rest of society. This is particular the case on matters related to sexuality such as abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, abstinence only sex-education and so forth. Some of the more extreme voices on the left have resorted to labeling orthodox religious believers who voice their opinion on this issues in the public square “theocrats” or “Christianists” who seek to “roll back the clock” and put “fundamentalists” (a much abused and loosely used term) in charge of the government. Several liberal authors published books that made this argument during the presidency of George W. Bush. While the election of Obama has calmed down many liberals, this narrative remains dominant on the left and will likely remain so for years to come.

For orthodox Christians such as myself who are actually familiar with traditional Christian churches, the “theocrat” charge is clearly exaggerated. It seems more indicative of fear and an ignorance of religion on the left than the aspirations of orthodox Christians. Clearly there are those in the so-called “religious right” who have said and done some foolish things. And conservative Christians have often uncritically supported the Republican party, which in turn has done little for them. The ‘theocrat’ charge, however, is completely overblown and unfair. It only serves to automatically discredit one party and shut down discussion before it starts. But that may be the point anyway.

So what is the secular left missing in all this? To explain this, it is worth remembering what America was like in 1965. Why 1965? Because the United States in 1965 was a very different nation. Yet it was on the cusp on a number of social, cultural, and economic changes that shape contemporary American society today, especially its politics. By the end of 1965, president Johnson’s signature of the Civil Rights Act and Voters Right Act had ensured that Jim Crow segregation was on its deathbed. Johnson was also in the process of expanding the federal government with his “Great Society” programs and getting the nation knee-deep into Vietnam.
America in 1965 was still a nation with a strong industrial base. Computers were unknown in the workplace and had little impact on the way most business operated and the way most people lived. America was not dependent on foreign oil. The big three dominated the automobile industry and Japanese imports were not popular. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America were largely unknown. Far fewer Americans lived what is called “the sunbelt” today. Of course, all of this was about to change.

The same was true of American culture. In terms of religion, mainline Protestant churches were at the height of their influence. As the election of president Kennedy seemed to have shown, Catholics and Jews were largely accepted as part of the religious mainstream. Evangelicals and especially fundamentalists as well as agnostics and atheists were considered outside the mainstream. Nonetheless, only around 40% of the population attended religious services on a weekly basis and much of the population was only nominally religious. Religion, however, was generally seen as a good thing by most of society. America in 1965 had not yet experienced the counter-culture movement or the feminist movement. It had also not experienced the sexual revolution of the late 1960s and 1970s. Clearly the seeds of feminism and the sexual revolution were present in 1965. Alfred Kinsey’s ideas were far from unknown in academic circles, the FDA had approved the birth control pill, “Playboy” magazine was beginning to take off, and feminist icon Betty Friedan’s book “The Feminine Mystique” had been published.

In 1965, abortion was illegal to one degree or the other in every state in the Union. No fault divorce as unknown. Premarital sex was frowned upon as was having children outside of marriage. A couple who lived together before they were married would have been considered scandalous. Pornography was not common and was widely seen as immoral. Homosexual behavior was seen as immoral, unnatural, and psychologically abnormal. The idea of “gay marriage” was completely unknown and would have certainly been seen as utterly absurd. People who were religious, nominally religious and non-religious generally shared these attitudes. America was no utopia in the 1950s and early 1960s. But Americans of various political and religious persuasions shared a common set of ethical values with respect to human sexuality in 1965.

Your average atheist, agnostic, nominal religious person, or ‘progressive’ religious person in 1965 quite likely wouldn’t have supported the abortion laws we have today. They most likely wouldn’t have seen homosexual behavior as normal and won’t have dreamed of supporting “gay marriage.” For “gay marriage,” the same would be true in 1985 and in many cases in 1995. For Gen Xers and especially for Baby Boomers, all of this was well within their lifetimes. So were agnostics and atheists (say Ayn Rand) in 1965 and even beyond ‘theocrats’? Of course not. This is precisely why the ‘theocrat’ charge is so misplaced. It utterly lacks perspective and fails to acknowledge that the left has experienced sea changes with respect to how it sees human sexuality and sexual ethics .

The “culture wars” that we have experienced for so many years aren’t a result of “fundamentalist Christians” seeking to “impose a theocracy” on the rest of America. They have taken place because the left changed its beliefs so radically and much of the rest of American society, especially traditional religious believers did not. Traditional believers had this fight thrust upon them. They didn’t start it. In short, if we have a “culture war” it is one that the left started and continues to wage, all while propagating the myth that it is the other way around. There simply is no major effort to impose a “theocracy” on America. In fact, take away major issues associated with differences that have arisen over sexuality such abortion, gay rights, pornography, no fault divorce, permissive sex education programs, and the social acceptance of cohabitation and out of wedlock birth and the “religious right” would disappear over night. In other words, if you want to end the “culture wars” and bring American society to a point when there was a broad consensus on sexual ethics between almost all members of society, liberals and conservatives, religious, nominally religious, and non-religious, then take us back to the "status quo ante bellum." Take us back to 1965.