With God on Our Side

Calvin Skaggs and David Van Taylor's With God on Our Side looks at the rise of the so-called religious right in American politics, culminating in the ascension of George W. Bush to the secular throne in the White House. Featuring excerpts from the much more comprehensive PBS-aired miniseries of the same name (VL-3/97), the film works best in charting the religious right's move into the political arena, from the rabid 1950s anti-communism sermons of evangelical preachers, most notably Billy Graham, through the 1960 presidential campaign of Roman Catholic John F. Kennedy. But it ignores the uglier aspects of the religious right--its indifference (at best) to the 1960s Civil Rights movement, its continued and relentless homophobia, and its own obsession with gaining wealth and political influence (not exactly the basic tenets of Christian theology)--and barely acknowledges the 1990s, when the election of Bill Clinton signaled a mass rejection of the evangelical political machine by the American people. The second half of the film becomes an unquestioning and, frankly, nauseating tribute to George W. Bush, serving up endless repetitions of the well-worn tale of how the hard-drinking Bush turned his life around through a belated embrace of faith. But the film ignores the fact that Bush won the White House in 2000 thanks to a skewered Supreme Court (and he was re-elected in 2004 with only 51% of the popular vote), which suggests that--as power bases go--the religious right is not exactly the behemoth portrayed here (a point perhaps underscored by the current administration's absolute ineffectiveness thus far in getting its second term domestic agenda off the ground). Still, given the guaranteed interest in the subject, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. [Note: this is also available from First Run/Icarus Films with public performance righrts, priced at $298.] Aud: C, P. [Note: DVD extras include NPR's “Fresh Air” audio interview with the filmmakers (10 min.), the excerpts “Politics: A Christian Viewpoint” (5 min.) and “Early Evangelical History” (3 min.), text filmmaker bios, text info on the religious right, a graph of evangelical voting patterns, an advertisement for the companion book, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a documentary that is sure to be popular.] (P. Hall)