"The liberal side on cultural questions does have the Constitution largely on its side. It has the Bill of Rights on its side in terms of liberty," says religious historian Stephen Prothero, whose new book is titled Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections).
"And typically," continues Prothero, "the culture wars is an effort to restrict our liberty, rather than to expand our liberty." For this reason, according to Prothero, conservatives are the big losers when it comes to the culture wars.
That idea might not sit well with Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, who likes to be known for his associations with "winners." And while Trump has taken the politicos by surprise, Prothero says Trump's brand of social conservatism is nothing new.
"I think Trump just stands in a really long line of cultural warriors who want to exclude Catholics from the American family, who want to exclude Mormons from the American family, and in his case want to exclude Muslims from the American family," says Prothero.
Prothero recently sat down with Reason TV's Todd Krainin to discuss America's long history of cultural wars, religious liberty, and why he thinks liberals are the cultural war winners.
About 18 minutes.
Produced by Amanda Winkler. Camera by Winkler and Joshua Swain. Music by Jingle Punks.
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