Question

Explain in some detail the Culture Wars, which were, according to Foner, "battles over moral values that raged throughout the 1990's." Who was at the forefront? What were the Culture Wars in response to? What did its proponents believe was at stake?

Answer 1

The word cultural war was coined by James Davison Hunter. The cultural war was the outcome of the demand for liberty.

There were many demands like the right to abortion, LGBTQ rights, employment in the military to LGBTQ people, rights to possess a gun.

The cultural war in 1990 was the conflict between the religious-minded people who value the morals and on the other side are those people who wanted liberty for themselves.

The Christian Coalition was viewing these demands as the attack on their moral values and the base of Christianity; they counter-attacked those who wanted their demands to be met by the government.

The proponents believed that the moral values of Americans are at stake because lifting the ban on abortion, would give rise to more sexual activities in the young generation, there will be more man to man and woman to woman relationship. That would injure the very soul of American moral values.

The possession of a gun would give rise to violence, although the guns will be for personal security, the wrong use of the weapon cannot be denied.

The cultural war was not a sudden outburst; it was the struggle that was going on for decades. We can see the demand by LGBTQs in 1960 and 1970, the abortion was illegal, and thus there were many unwed mothers in the society. The cultural war had got its momentum during the presidential election in the US.