Moral Majority - Organizational Goals and Composition

Organizational Goals and Composition

The Moral Majority sought to mobilize conservative Americans to become politically active on issues they thought were important. A variety of tactics were used to garner support. These tactics included direct-mail campaigns, telephone hot lines, rallies, and religious television broadcasts. Although the Moral Majority existed for only a decade, it became a visible political force very shortly after its founding and was relatively effective in its mobilization goals. According to Robert Liebman and Robert Wuthnow, common explanations for this success include:

• The Moral Majority was founded with strong financial backing already in place.
• The Moral Majority’s leaders were in frequent communication with its constituents, enabling consistent messages to resonate throughout all levels of hierarchy.
• The Moral Majority’s leaders generally had previous organizational experience.
• The general public was amenable to the issues the Moral Majority emphasized.

Some issues for which the Moral Majority campaigned included:

• Censorship of media outlets that promote an "anti-family" agenda
• Enforcement of a traditional vision of family life
• Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• Opposition to state recognition and acceptance of homosexual acts
• Outlawing abortion in all cases, even to save a woman's life
• Targeting Jews and other non-Christians for conversion to conservative Christianity

The Moral Majority had adherents in the two major United States political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, although it exercised far more influence on the former.