Article

South Park Conservatives and the Religious Right

Tweet Share

In the New York Times this morning, columnist John Tierney argues that the Republican Party is losing the hip, urban, libertarian voting bloc, dubbed “South Park Republicans” after the profane animated television program. Attending a Reason magazine conference, Tierney cites Andrew Sullivan and Reason editor Nick Gillespie, who argues that the culturally libertarian youth vote is as likely to show up for the GOP in this fall’s elections as Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is to join the Village People.

Of interest to those of us who are not libertarians, South Park devotees, or Republican partisans is Tierney’s assessment of the strange relationship between the libertarians and religious and social conservatives.

Tierney talks to Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park, a show which regularly sought to demean religious ideas, people, and the Deity Himself. Nonetheless, Parker says there was a time when he, as a Republican, saw the religious right as an ally for libertarian causes.

“The Republicans didn’t want to run your life, because Jesus should. That was really part of their thing: less government, more Jesus,” Parker says. “Not it’s like, how about more government and Jesus.”

Only when we see how lost we are, we can find our way again. Only when we bury what’s dead can we experience life again. Only when we lose our religion can we be amazed by grace again.

Purchase

About Russell Moore

Russell Moore is Editor in Chief of Christianity Today and is the author of the forthcoming book Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (Penguin Random House).

More