http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=2026&e=5&u=/latimests/20040607/ts_latimes/movedbythespirittogovernIn countries throughout Latin America, evangelicals such as Vieira are stepping out from the shelter of their churches to enter the fractious world of secular politics. These Protestant Christians are increasingly speaking out, teaming up and getting elected in a region that remains overwhelmingly Roman Catholic....
Much of the evangelical bloc's agenda would be recognizable to conservative Christian brethren in the United States. The group opposes any liberalization of Brazil's already-strict abortion laws. Gay marriage is anathema. So are legalizing drugs, handing out clean needles to addicts as a public-health measure and distributing condoms in schools.
One of the group's biggest victories in Congress last year was amending a bio-safety bill to outlaw the cloning of human embryos to harvest stem cells for research. On the local level, the evangelical governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Rosinha Matheus, has outraged scientists by authorizing public schools to teach creationism....
Previously disdainful of worldly politics, the leaders of these churches now embrace it. And beyond exhorting the faithful to exercise their franchise — voting is mandatory in Brazil, anyway — the churches field or endorse candidates, mobilize workers and plot election strategy with increasing astuteness. Some candidates have legally added "Pastor" or "Bishop" to their names so that those identifications would appear on ballots and attract the attention of Christian voters. Criminetly! Looks like, if the worst happens in Nov., I may have to go farther afield than I thought in search of a safe haven... Is the whole world about to plunge headlong into a new Dark Age?! Can we
stop it??!!