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The old culture war politics is dying, but new culture wars are gathering force. The transformation of the battlefield will change our public life.

The idea of a culture war was popularized by Pat Buchanan in his joyfully incendiary 1992 Republican National Convention speech, but it was introduced into the public argument a year earlier by James Davison Hunter, a thoughtful University of Virginia sociologist.

In his 1991 book Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, Hunter described a raging battle between the orthodox, committed to an external, definable and transcendent authority, and progressives, who could be defined by the spirit of the modern age, a spirit of rationalism and subjectivism.

It was a fight, in other words, between those whose deepest commitments were to God and the sacred, and those who believed that human beings evolved their own value systems through a process of steady enlightenment. The first group feared we were moving away from commitments that made us decent and human. The second welcomed more open attitudes on questions ranging from sexuality to racial equality to womens rights.

This culture war created the religious right and also a backlash among more secular Americans who happen to be one of the fastest growing groups in the country. Their skirmishes focused especially on the legality of abortion, societys view of homosexuality and, more generally, the public role of religion.

That this culture war is receding is most obvious in our rapidly changing responses to gays and lesbians. The turnaround in public opinion on gay marriage is breathtaking. According to the Pew Research Center, only 27 percent of Americans favored gay marriage in 1996; by 2014, that proportion had doubled, to 54 percent.

Not for nothing did President Obama declare in his State of the Union address last week: Ive seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country.

Abortion is a different matter because public opinion on the question has been quite stable. Over recent decades, Americans have generally supported abortion rights by margins of between 5-to-4 and 3-to-2. And many hold somewhat ambivalent views, resisting black-and-white certainty. Rachel Laser, a close student of the issue, has called these middle-grounders the Abortion Grays.

But the politics of abortion have become more complicated for its opponents. This was evidenced by the decision of House Republicans to pull a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks because the exception for rape victims it required them to report the crime to the police was seen as far too onerous. A group of House Republican women forced the bill off the floor.

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Column: New Battlegrounds in the Culture Wars

E.J. Dionne Jr.sizes up the new culture war over at the Washington Post.

The old culture war politics is dying, but new culture wars are gathering force, he writes. The old culture war was a fight between those whose deepest commitments were to God and the sacred, and those who believed that human beings evolved their own value systems through a process of steady enlightenment. The first group feared we were moving away from commitments that made us decent and human. The second welcomed more open attitudes on questions ranging from sexuality to racial equality to womens rights.

This culture war created the religious right and a backlash among more secular Americans who happen to be one of the fastest-growing groups in the country. Their skirmishes focused especially on the legality of abortion, societys view of homosexuality and, more generally, the public role of religion.

Now, a new kind of culture war is emerging, Dionne writes, one that focuses on national identity rather than religion and 'transcendent authority.'

It asks the same question as the old culture war: Who are we? But the earlier query was primarily about how we define ourselves morally. The new question is about how we define ourselves ethnically, racially and linguistically. It is, in truth, one of the oldest questions in our history, going back to our earliest immigration battles of the 1840s and 1850s.

Another important aspect of the new culture war is often cast as economic, Dionne writes, but it is really about values and virtues: Why is the hard work of the many, those who labor primarily for wages and salaries, rewarded with increasingly less generosity than the activities of those who make money from investments and capital?

Politically, this could be explosive, Dionne writes. What is at heart a moral battle could rip apart old coalitions, since many working-class and middle-class social conservatives are angry about our shifting structures of reward. If issues such as abortion and gay rights split the New Deal coalition, this emerging issue could divide the conservative coalition. The rise of Pope Francis could hasten the scrambling of the moral debate, since he links his opposition to abortion with powerful calls for economic justice and compassion toward immigrants.

[Vinnie Rotondaro isNCRnational correspondent. His email address isvrontodaro@ncronline.org.]

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The 'new' culture war

The blockbuster American Sniper has opened up another front in the culture war, triggering a media firefight between liberals who have denounced the film as glorifying killing or whitewashing the Iraq war and conservatives who have embraced its patriotic hero.

Despite taking heavy flak from some critics, led by left-wing director Michael Moore, the film earned a jaw-dropping $247 million in its first two weeks, exposing a chasm between the Hollywood and political elite and moviegoing public not seen since the release of The Passion of the Christ in 2004.

Bloomberg Politics called American Sniper the official Oscar nominee of the culture wars.

SEE ALSO: Congressional veterans: American Sniper a realistic portrait of sacrifice, wars toll

Youre seeing the same kind of astonishment that Hollywood reacted with when Passion of Christ went well, said Los Angeles talk-radio host Larry Elder. The fact is, most Americans feel pretty good about their country, most Americans are very patriotic about their country, most Americans support the military, and even if they feel the mission may not be a good mission, they still support the military. And I just dont think Hollywood gets that.

The latest high-profile skirmish came Monday when actor Gary Sinise blasted former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Deans declaration that ticket-buyers flocking to see the film are very angry tea party types.

I bet you if you looked at a cross-section of the tea party and the people who go see this movie, theres a lot of intersection, said Mr. Dean on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher.

SEE ALSO: Gary Sinise to Howard Dean on American Sniper diss: What the hell are you talking about?

Mr. Sinise, an active supporter of veterans, swung back with a post on WhoSay informing Mr. Dean that he had seen the movie and would not consider myself to be an angry person.

You certainly have a right to make stupid blanket statements, suggesting that all people who see this film are angry, but how is that helpful sir? said Mr. Sinise, who stars in CSI: New York.

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'American Sniper' smashes box office records, ignites culture war

Clint Eastwoods American Sniper the Oscar-nominated military film that stars Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL sharpshooter Chris Kyle remained atop the box office for the second consecutive weekend, earning more than $64 million, according to estimates.

The R-rated biopic is on a remarkable pace and has already brought in more than $200 million after two weekends in theaters. It also grabbed six Academy Awards nominations, including one for best picture and another for Cooper, whose performance as Chris Kyle earned him a best actor nod.

In case you havent heard about it (somehow?), the film tells the story of Kyle the deadliest sniper in U.S.history and has stirred old debates about the Iraq War and the marksmans celebrated career and unverifiable legacy.

Heres a look at some of whats been said so far about the film and Kyle, who was fatally shot in 2013 by veteran Eddie Routh. Routhstrial is set to begin next month.

Gary Sinise tells off Howard Dean

Chris Kyles friend, a former Army Ranger: There is an inherent anti-military bias in Hollywood.And I think if Hollywood could just get past that bias, youd see more military blockbusters that celebrate American exceptionalism, selfless service, honor and integrity on the battlefield.

Bill Maher: This one is just American Hero. Hes a psychopath patriot and we love him.(Warning: Some of the language in the video is NSFW.)

Former Marine Corps sniper: Hollywood makes movies to make money. Its not propaganda. Its [a] very touching movie to me and my family.

Director Clint Eastwood: One of my favorite war movies that Ive been involved with is Letters from Iwo Jima.And that was about family, about being taken away from life, being sent someplace. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Eastwood, continued: In World War II, everybody just sort of went home and got over it. Now there is some effort to help people through it. In Chris Kyles case,, no good deed went unpunished. (THR)

The rest is here:
A guide to the American Sniper culture wars controversy

ATLANTA (AP) A Texas lawmaker would strip the salaries from government officials who honor same-sex marriage licenses.

Other states would protect government officials who opt out of performing gay nuptials.

In Georgia, where lawmakers are considering a bill that critics fear could allow businesses to discriminate against gay customers, the former head of the country's largest Protestant denomination recently urged lawmakers to rein in "erotic liberty."

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in April and could decide by June whether gay couples can marry, and national opinion polls show U.S. voters increasingly unopposed to gay rights. Yet lawmakers in a handful of states are backing longshot legislation targeting gay rights, doubling down on the culture wars. Most, if not all, of the efforts are led by Republicans.

The bills are more political theatre than serious policy. Few seem to have widespread support among lawmakers, and senior Republicans are not adopting these efforts as their own. In Georgia, well-funded business groups oppose them.

Still, the legislation remains popular with vocal and organized voting blocks in states or parts of the states where they've been proposed. But any political points they score could come at a price.

If the bills' backers manage to force a sharp debate in coming weeks, and the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage a few months later, supporters of the bills would be exposed to criticism that they've been fighting for a fringe issue.

"On no issue during my 40-year career have opinions moved as rapidly as they have on the issue of the morality of gay relationships and ultimately gay marriage," said Whit Ayres, a Republican consultant for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and the National Rifle Association. "When you have conservative organizations like the U.S. military and the Boy Scouts openly accepting gay members, the debate is close to being over."

Not in Georgia. In a devotional delivered to newly convened lawmakers, the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention urged them to defend the freedom to act on religious beliefs, though he stopped short of endorsing legislation that supporters say would do precisely that.

"We are a living in a society that is on a collision course with a choice between erotic liberty and religious liberty," the Rev. Bryant Wright told lawmakers. "... Your role in government is about restraining sin."

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GOP presses state bills limiting gay rights before ruling