To be Conservative in the USA today means one is constantly coming
  under fire from mainstream society.  Issues such as women's choice, school
  prayer, and the entire idea of the relationship between Church and State in
   general have had many Catholics and Christians turning to the Republican party
  for answers, agreeing with the ideas being espoused by the party.  Never has this
  been more seen than in the rise of the Christian Coalition, the creation of famous
  700 club preacher Pat Robertson.  About this movement, Michael Cromarite in
  "Christianity Today," says, "When the Christian Coalition held its first rally in
  Orlando in 1989, the organization boasted 5,000 members and the rally drew 600
  supporters.  Today, little more than six years after its inception, the coalition
  numbers 1.6 million members and supporters, includes 2,000 local chapters, and
  distributes 33 million voter guides." [Cromarite]  Fundamentally, while some
  Catholics wouldn't describe themselves as Republican, we can see why the
  movement is gaining strength.  In his book American Catholic, Charles R. Morris
  describes Catholics as having been "part of the nationwide swing toward political
  conservatism during the Regan years, and again in 1994 Congressional
  elections." [Morris, 304]  While he continues on to describe Catholics as
  fundamentally Liberal, it can be seen more and more that Catholics are shifting
  over to the social ideas presented by the Conservative movement.
     The fundamental view of many Catholics today is aligned with the Church
  on such economic policies such as helping the poor and homeless.  We all want
  the world to be a better place, the question is how do we get there. 
  Conservatives believe that this change must come socially, within communities. 
  As such, they call for a return to the ideals once held by most Americans.
     In 1979, Baptist minister Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, a
  fundamentalist group created to lobby members of government to support the
  interests of the religious right.  Much of what was said here formed the basis of
  what would become the Christian Coalition [Hulett 247-8]  In 1981, in describing
  his organization, Falwell wrote, "Today Moral Majority, Inc., is made up of millions
  of Americans...who are deeply concerned about the moral decline of our nation,
  the traditional family, and the moral values on which our nation was built."
  [Falwell, 269]  He then goes on to describe the ideas that his organization
  supports, including pro-traditional family, anti pornography, and a support of equal
  rights for women.  Secular liberals of the time argued, and continue to argue
  today, that the anti pornography stance is censorship, and as such is an invasion
  upon our first amendment rights, and laugh at the idea of his support of equal
  rights for women, while supporting the idea of the traditional family.  But his idea
  of the traditional family is "the legal marriage of a man and a woman," in his eyes,
  as opposed to, "homosexual marriage, and common law marriage." [Falwell, 270] 
  But for many people, Falwell's message was very strong, and sometimes seemed
  to be even hateful.  His organization later lost financial base when joining with the
  Liberty Federation, thus leaving a gap open for power over conservative
  Christians.
     In modern America, the Christian Coalition has firmly established itself as
  the primary Conservative religious organization in American politics.  While
  continuing to support the ideals of Falwell's Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition
  has taken their quest for political power one step forward, such that many people
  believe that the coalition now completely controls the Republican party.  Kim
  Lawton describes the 1996 "Road to Victory" conference as having a Republican
  tone...as 4,800 attendees heard from Republican nominee Bob Dole, running
  mate Jack Kemp, and a host of Republican Congress members."  The only non-Republican that spoke during the conference was Reform Party candidate Ross
  Perot, who she says, "was interrupted several times by hecklers in the audience
  shouting 'What about abortion?'" [Lawton, 84]
     While many Catholics might disagree with the fundamentalist approach
  these organizations take to Politics, they find themselves ultimately supporting
  the organizations because, first, there are no other powerful Religiously based
  organizations, and second, because of the staunch pro-life and pro-family stance
  adopted by these organizations.  In an interview conducted by Michael Cromartie,
  one time Christian political insider Charles Colson says, "The reason many
  Democrats have moved to the Republican party is the Abortion issue and the gay
  rights agenda, period.  These are moral issues.  Our consciences will not let us
  be compromised.  And the Republicans have, to now, embraced these issues;
  and the Democrats have turned their backs on them." [Cromartie]  This is very
  true.  The leaders of the fundamentalist groups know how to appeal to potential
  members with very powerful words.  Jerry Falwell described his organization's
  stance on abortion very powerfully when he said, "We believe that life begins at
  fertilization.  We strongly oppose the massive "biological holocaust" that is
  resulting in the abortion of one and a half million babies each year in America. 
  We believe that unborn babies have the right to life as much as babies that have
  been born..." [Falwell, 270]  
     For Catholics though, many find themselves unsure on the position of the
  Coalition on the issues other than those already mentioned.  Many modern
  Catholics are unsure about the Coalition's stand on conservative economic
  policies, such as the dismantling of the welfare system.  Issues such as these
  have led Catholics to be wary of completely adopting all fundamentals of the
  Christian Coalition.
     Ultimately, the main issue that can be seen for Conservative Catholics
  comes down to the issue of the separation of Church and State.  At the heart of
  every issue discussed here is a moral held by Christians, and Conservatives in
  general, that is coming under attack from outside secular sources in their view. 
  But, it can be seen that in the end the Liberal movement prefers a completely
  secular state.  Mary Jo Weaver captures the essence behind the Conservative
  view of Church and State when she says, "One of the ways in which modern
  societies have transformed education is in broadening curricula to include sex
  education, new scientific theories, and ideas illustrating non-Christian cultures. 
  Many conservative Christian object to the inclusion of such teachings in public
  schools because it is biased against their beliefs.  Modern education leaves no
  opportunity for school prayer and often teaches "values" that conservative
  Christians think are relativistic or anti religious." [Weaver, 247]  
     Conservatives view that exceptions can and should be made to the rules
  of Church and State, based on the way that the clause was originally written. 
  Michael W. McConnell demonstrates this idea in his opening paragraph when he
  says, "Ask most educated Americans what the Constitution has to say about
  religion and they will respond: it requires a "separation between church and
  state."  Never mind that these words appear nowhere in the Constitution, nor
  even in the First Amendment...nor the debates over its framing, nor in the
  documents that were its source and inspiration.  The..metaphor, the "wall of
  separation between church and state," first appeared in a letter written by
  Thomas Jefferson 14 years after the First Amendment was drafted.  Now it has
  overshadowed the actual language of the First Amendment." [McConnell, 180] 
  But, he continues on to say that perhaps this metaphor is not that bad, and that
  "Neither the government controlled by a church nor a church controlled by the
  government will be what a government or a church ought to be." [McConnell, 180] 
  Yet, still, according to Conservatives, there is no denying that the words Church
  and State appear no where in the Constitution.  In his book The Way Things
  Ought to Be, Rush Limbaugh elaborates on the view most Conservatives have
  towards the Establishment clause of the Constitution.  He says, "The separation
  of church and state in our Constitution is not there to protect Americans from
  religion, its there to protect Americans from government." [Limbaugh, 285]  
     Conservatives believe that issues such as school prayer and school
  choice vouchers should ultimately be won in their favor simply because there is
  no official establishment of religion in doing so.  Extreme Conservatives would
  say that Christianity should be made a national religion, but most Conservatives
  are happy with the idea of an afterschool religious group being allowed at their
  child's public school, or a moment of silence during the school day for silent
  prayer.  Secular liberals continue to argue that this infringes on the establishment
  clause.
     As you can see, while it may seem that Conservatives advocate the
  breaking down of the barriers between Church and State, it can ultimately be
  seen that this is not true.  Going back to Falwell's original description of Moral
  Majority, at the top of the list of theories his organization held true to was the
  belief in a separation of Church and State.  His words still state the ideal that
  many Christian Conservatives hold on to, "Moral Majority, Inc. is a political
  organization providing a platform for religious and nonreligious Americans who
  share moral values to address their concerns in these areas...We are Americans
  who are proud to be Conservative in our approach to moral, social, and political
  concerns." [Falwell, 269]  
     It is the belief of Conservatives everywhere that change within the country
  will come only within the people, when people make the decision to get out of
  their chairs and helping people.  The grass roots support of the Christian
  Coalition, and the newer Conservative group, the Promise Keepers, and the
  recent shift in power seen in recent elections prove to many that conservatives
  are willing to dedicate themselves to trying to fix the problems of the world, rather
  than allowing big government to do it for them.