… A conflict between religiously orthodox and heterodox Republicans is forcing the Republican Party onto risky terrain. The question is: Can the party sideline one of the most reliable voting blocs, the most religiously observant, on the assumption that it will attract the college-educated, socially liberal and fiscally moderate voters who have been shifting to the Democratic Party?
The answer is that the Republican Party appears to be moving in a direction that will leave it no choice. Religiously committed voters are on the wane in an era of increasing secularization. Science and technology have uprooted faith and shattered tradition, and Republicans have benefited from the struggle to accommodate the onrush of modernity.
Now, party professionals appear willing to make a series of gambles. CONT.
Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times