It might be remembered as the movement's last gasp or its phoenix-like rise from the ashes of electoral shame.
Signers of the Manhattan Declaration, according to its Web site, manhattandeclaration.org, affirm, "Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense."
More than 100 Christian leaders from Orthodox, Roman Catholic and evangelical camps have already signed the 4,700-word manifesto.
Abandon the positions they favor and suffer the consequences is their message to government. What are those consequences?
In a Nov. 20 press conference, several signers mentioned civil disobedience and Dr. Martin Luther King.
The media event symbolized a stunning (and sudden) turnaround from five years ago when the Christian right and its opposition to gay marriage was marshaled to deliver George W. Bush a second term in the White House. Back then, the Christian right felt no need to stage events and create declarations.
The "values voters" thought they were in command. They weren't.
Bush used his so-called political "capital" to pursue Social Security privatization, an effort that failed by the middle of 2005.
The Christian right had once more invested its hopes and votes in a candidate who played nicer with big business than the folks in the church pews.
Mix changing U.S. demographics along with sexual scandals (religious right faves Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La.) and financial scandals (the Jack Abramoff-tainted Ralph Reed), and the movement looked like a damaged brand. Faithful duties took a back seat to politics.
So, is the Manhattan Declaration a change in tactics, if not a broadening of policy views? Or is the declaration a new play in the conservative playbook where all the special interests are strategically aimed against a policy, in this case health-care reform?
Time will tell. For now, the skeptical are justified in casting a wary eye. The manifesto is heavy on abortion and same-sex marriage and less involved with homelessness at home or how the "culture of death" is played out in U.S. involvement in Iraq and central Asia.
