God's flock left out in the cold

The God of the Old Testament had a tendency to smite his enemies, but this election he kept his plagues and thunderbolts to himself.

With Destiny NZ and Christian Heritage not even close to 5 per cent and United Future's numbers reduced, God's agents are today questioning if not their faith, then their future as a political force.

The Almighty's absence from the campaign came in stark contrast to earlier expectations that the religious right could play a significant role on election day.

Led by the political wing of Brian Tamaki's Destiny Church, Destiny NZ, morals campaigners organised a ballot box crusade on a scale not seen since the Christian Coalition came within 0.7 per cent of Parliament in 1996.

Bishop Tamaki said crusaders were defending "a nation under siege", with traditional family values distorted by civil unions and prostitution law reform.

But despite the supposed disenchantment with Labour's depraved 'social engineering', religion's only real impact came courtesy of the Exclusive Brethren and their covert pamphleteering - proving that God's messengers move in mysterious ways.

Destiny did not out-poll Act nor Jim Anderton's Progressives and fell well short of the 5 per cent threshold. Damaged by the child sex conviction of former leader Graham Capill, Christian Heritage also failed to make an impact.

With United Future returning as a more truly centrist party, minus its more overtly Christian MPs, the result is another nail in the electoral coffin of the religious right, whose ascension to power seems ever less likely.

Destiny NZ leader Richard Lewis admitted that his party executive would now be "taking stock" and reconsidering its approach, but did not believe their fervour would be dampened.

"Our passion won't change. As long as we have a Government that continues to drive policies that undermine the traditional values of our nation we are going to be doing something."

He was not surprised at United Future's apparent drop in Christian support, blaming its close relationship with Labour: "United Future has definitely betrayed the voter that put them in, which is why they've lost the majority of that support."

United Future's Marc Alexander - an avowed atheist - said the party's Christian support base had been split over issues such as civil unions and prostitution. "We were blasted by religious extremism [for working with Labour] and we were blasted on the more tolerant religious side, asking how we could vote against an ethical Christian approach to equality."

He attributed the failure of Destiny and Christian Heritage to conservative voters returning to the National Party or hanging on with United Future.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY