For Christian right leaders, Senator Barack Obama's victory last week was a huge setback that left some in the midst of a grieving process. While things may not be going well for the movement, some of its leaders vowed to not only survive under an Obama administration but to thrive.
"Nothing unites Christian conservatives more than a common enemy, and here the enemy is a radical liberal agenda," said Rebecca Hagelin of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation on Christian Broadcasting Network on Monday.
Hagelin made sure to clearly state that president-elect Obama himself is not the issue, but rather a "nation and a Christian movement" that she believes has fallen asleep and left the door open to a radical liberal agenda.
"There are a lot of dangerous social agenda items and I think you will see the church rise up to fight these like never before," she contended.
Issues at stake, she noted, include a long list of measures preventing abortion - such as parental notification, informed consent and bans on partial birth abortions - and free speech if the Fairness Doctrine is passed into law.
Similarly, Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America predicts that Obama's radical leftist policies could have a reverse effect on many Americans.
"If [president-elect Obama] implements the policies that he says that he believes," Wright said, "many people in America ... may be shocked enough that we'll see the pendulum swing the other way."
While David Kuo, CEO of the social networking site Culture11.com for the cultural conservatives, also foresees great opportunity for conservatives, he thinks that the movement will ultimately evolve to be more progressive in the next few years.
He highlighted that the movement is undergoing a generational shift and that it is likely to stay socially conservative but be more progressive in terms of the agendas it advocates for.
"I think the religious right has an enormous opportunity to be reconstituted in a way that may be even more reflective of an agenda that Jesus might pursue," Kuo said, according to ABC news.
Some evangelical leaders have already begun to pursue agendas beyond the movement's big three issues of abortion, marriage and justices.
