43 “being shaken out of their lethargy, ignorance, and ‘Churchianity’” to be part of something bigger than themselves.86 LaHaye also provided detailed instructions on how a homemaker could write and lobby their representatives and senators and demand action from the comfort of her kitchen table, thus changing history.87 Through their anti-ERA campaign, Phyllis Schlafly and Beverly LaHaye mobilized hundreds of thousands of conservative Christian women to participate in political activism and developed organizations that continue to speak for those values today. CONCLUSION The battle for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment revealed the power that the Religious Right, now led by women, had on American politics. Though feminists blamed men for the ERA’s failure, “observers noted that some of the strongest and most effective opposition came from women—women of the political and Religious Right.”88 According to Pew Research, since 1984, when Ronald Reagan ran against Walter Mondale for president, more women have voted in elections than men. This disparity has grown yearly, and in 2016, “63% of women who were eligible to vote said they cast ballots in the presidential election, compared with 59% men.”89 Although 56% of American women voted for a Democrat candidate, 78% of white evangelicals voted for the Republican party making white evangelicals “the most solidly Republican major religious grouping in the country.”90 Finally, white evangelicals have voted for the Republican candidate in the last five presidential elections, including the 2020 election. Therefore Republican candidates understand that they can secure the GOP nomination if they court white evangelicals, specifically white evangelical women.91 Republican candidates, from local to national elections, are indebted to Phyllis Schlafly and Beverly LaHaye for their contribution to educating, mobilizing, and inspiring conservative, Christian women to become political activists. WOMEN, LEADERSHIP, AND THE POWER OF THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT
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