The conservative Christian voting bloc is often courted strongly by politicians, but recent trends suggest that traditional issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are no longer the leading priorities among younger Christian voters.
This gradual political transformation may play a role in how presidential candidates court the younger Christian demographic.
Conservative Christians, including students at Hopkins, are taking noticeable interest in traditionally liberal concerns, such as the environment, poverty and social issues. But there is still argument as to whether or not this can be seen as a dramatic shift in the nature of evangelical Christian political attitudes.
"As a young Christian, I am very disturbed when someone states something like 'Bush is a born-again Christian, Obama says gay marriage is OK, so Republicans are God's party, and Democrats are evil,'" sophomore Jason Park said.
Park is active in both the Hopkins Christian Fellowship (HCF) and the Agape Christian Fellowship - as well as Amnesty International.
Tim Fermin, president of Grace Life Church's Stepping Stone Ministry here on campus, offered an explanation for why more ambiguity seems to surround what young evangelicals are truly passionate about today.
"Too often Christians are seen as totally condemning and ostracizing individuals who may have alternative lifestyles when that is simply not what many Christians do, nor what Jesus preached," he said. "I believe this contributes to people at least being less vocal on abortion and gay marriage in the political sphere, since choosing one side tends to cause other individuals to think they are being narrow-minded or judgmental.
HCF staff member Natalie Flora sees what many are calling new positions for Christian conservatives as "reconnecting with the fundamental Christian message."
For Flora, that message includes beliefs and actions on both the societal and personal levels.
"We have to address systemic injustice, poverty, the environment - the things that affect all of creation and not just our private lives or, often, telling everyone what to do with their private lives," she said.
Sophomore and fellow HCF member Bill Borch is not alone in his view that fighting poverty should be one of the most important prerogatives of the Christian faith.
A recent national CBS poll indicates that white evangelicals consider "fighting poverty" to be the single most important political issue. "Abortion" and "genocide" came in at a distant second and third, respectively.
But Borch does not see combating poverty as a political issue. "Churches invest a sense of care, individual attention and purpose to the impoverished which no government program can boast," Borch said.
He counted foreign policy, however, as the single most important issue of the current presidential race, though his faith plays a large part in his perspective on that issue as well.
Quoting the New Testament, Borch said, "Priority should be placed on the defense of the country, since the leader will have to 'give an account' for all the innocent citizens who die due to his mis-action, inaction or cowardice.
"I would like our government to not to grapple so much with blatantly religious issues, such as having the Ten Commandments in the front of a court, but rather focus on nurturing and protecting a political environment where freedom of religion is assured, and the place where partisan politicians do not attempt to deliberately 'Christianize' themselves in order to gain political support," he said.
Borch holds abortion as an important issue by which to judge candidates, because it reveals whether or not they share his values on a fundamental level.
"The abortion question is important, not only because of the question itself, but because it reveals a lot about particular candidates," he said.
Adam Sheingate, associate professor in the political science department at Hopkins, said that evangelical voters are still primarily interested in candidates who hold similar morals.
"Evangelical Christians are mostly concerned about socially conservative values," Sheingate said.
Evangelical Christians may be increasingly involved with the environment, fighting poverty and efforts to create social justice, but, ultimately, Sheingate remains "skeptical" that the traditional social values are less of an issue than in the past.
Connie Vogelmann, president of Students for Environmental Action, said she could not recall ever being approached by religious groups seeking a partnership but that the group would be open to the idea.
"The most important quality in any leader, especially in presidential candidates, is integrity. I may disagree with and refuse to vote for certain candidates, but at the end of the day, if they remain true to their views and promises, I have to respect them," Borch said.
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Matthew Crenson believes the newest generation of evangelical Christians, as a political bloc, do have the potential to engage in more conventionally liberal activities.
"The old leadership of the Christian right has faded away," Crenson said, citing the death of Rev. Jerry Falwell. Crenson argued that Pat Robertson has lost political legitimacy among evangelicals by endorsing Rudy Giuliani over Mike Huckabee, simply because the former New York mayor was ahead in the polls at the time.
What remains, Crenson continued, is the opportunity for new evangelical leaders to step in and construct political alliances with "people with more liberal political agendas. That could very easily transform American politics."
If evangelical and liberal Democratic leaders were to recognize this opportunity for partnership, Crenson said, that would be a way to "stitch together a new coalition" in a political environment that has, in recent years, become "much more fluid."
Here at Hopkins, such a coalition has yet to come together. Jordan Libowitz, president of the Hopkins chapter of the College Democrats, could not recall any time during his career in the group that they were approached by a campus religious group looking to work together.
Within the group itself, Libowitz said, "Of all the things we discuss, I don't remember religion ever being one of them."
Keshav Khanijow, president of Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance (DSAGA), has friends who are Republican and religious but who believe the "sanctity of marriage" applies to gay as well as straight couples.
"One common reason that comes up in people being straight allies is that they enjoy the blessing of marriage, and they believe in the sanctity of marriage, and they want same-sex couples to have that sanctity of marriage," Khanijow said.
"The reality is that though someone may support one side, they really have no problem living and being friends with someone from the other," Fermain said.
"I would say that evangelical voters do not single-mindedly deal with social issues. I believe that their focus upon social issues, and subsequent identification with the Republican party spurs them to learn about and form opinions on a whole range of other issues," said Evan Lazerowitz, president of the College Republicans. Lazerowitz did not wish to comment on the views of Christian students at Hopkins.
"I think it's fair to say that there's been a shift - not in essentials, but in emphasis," Flora said. "Most young Christian evangelicals are adding things like social justice, poverty and the environment to the list of 'spiritual' issues we care about."
