Motherhood as a Source of the Political

Over at Slate, there is a very good article that discusses the transformation of Motherhood under Evangelicalism, especially from the Murphy Brown era to the Sarah Palin days. While once it was inappropriate for a woman in power to become a single mother, right Dan Quayle, it is now authentic for a woman in power to have a pregnant daughter before the daughter is married. The reason for this change is that Motherhood is an important source of Evangelical politics:

Starting in the 1970s, leaders such as Dobson began rewriting the rules of the traditional Christian marriage to make it more palatable in an age of feminism. Domestic work was elevated to a special calling; Christian women were told their child-rearing decisions had national implications, as they were raising a generation of righteous soldiers. Mom took on a political tinge. Home-schooling mothers dragged their large broods to volunteer in campaigns. Like with many Christian moms of her generation, Palin's résumé starts with the PTA.

Conservative women became a powerful tool for the party, and everyone was willing to overlook the cost to their personal lives. If a conservative Christian mother chose to pursue a full-time career in, say, landscape gardening or the law, she was abandoning her family. But if she chose public service, she was furthering the godly cause. No one discussed the sticky domestic details: Did she have a (gasp!) nanny? Did her husband really rule the roost anymore? Who said prayers with the kids every night? As long as she was seen now and again with her children, she could get away with any amount of power.

The article reads as a form of synthesis of ideas: a traditional lifestyle in the realm of politics means that the "elites" do not need to lead by example because they advance the cause of political Evangelicalism. However, even as the "elites" in politics lead to greater visibility for the movement, the loss of authenticity with "Evangelicalism" creates room for "slippage" in the masses as they see that they do not need to follow the rules the elite expound. The article suggests that this contradiction between elites/masses helps to explain why the divorce rate is on the rise with Evangelicals.

If the later is true, splinter groups from the movement may weaken Evangelical power, opening up the door for another political reform in the Martin Luther sense. For better or for worse, the new-age Puritans may form competing factions. However, as long as abortion remains legal and in tact as is, there will always a political devil for Evangelicals to fight against.