After 8 years of our recent short-bus president Americans might be forgiven for feeling as if the Christian Conservative thang was all our own. Unwavering support for Israel (since they have to build the Temple then die on the fields of Mediggo before Christ comes back, dontcha know), abstinence education in lieu of condoms to stop HIV spread, and the wholehearted opting out from the evolution thing now feels so red, white, and blue that to find it overseas is a bit of a shock.

Yet here it is.

Perhaps I should not be surprised. Everyone speaks to how Scottish the region around Dunedin is, yet they rarely mention that it was settled by the Free Church of Scotland in 1848. Since then it has stayed big in politics, spinning off such recent parties as Christian Heritage, the Christian Coalition (Falwell lives!), Destiny New Zealand/the Family Party, and the Christian Democrats, plus Maori Christian groups such as Ratana.

Christian politics really fired up here in the 70's in opposition to the legalization of homosexual behaviors and the loosening of abortion laws. By the 80's US groups like Falwell's were advising these groups in how to fight back politically, especially over the decriminalization of gay love. Feminism was also a well-loved bugaboo. Where was Rush when they needed him? Unfortunately the most well-known leader of the hardest-right bunch, Christian Heritage, was convicted of the repeated rape of an eight year old girl in 2005, thus somewhat dampening the movement's ardour. At least towards children.

So, what does this mean for those of us wandering in fresh from the Obamathon? New Zealand is still much more progressive politically than the States (socialized medicine!). Yet at the student orientation tent fair on campus the most prominent, by far, presence there were evangelicals decrying evolution, distributing bibles, and trying to rouse the flock. On Clubs and Societies day the single largest contingent were religious groups, mostly Christian. More than half the International Student events I have been invited to have been Christian-sponsored. Heck, I have even been in three churches in my few days here. Granted, they had been converted into two bars and an art-cinema, but they were churches. One even had an object of veneration, a 12-foot Jagermeister banner decorating the nave above the dance floor. All praise our anise lord and his porcelain heaven...