MONTGOMERY, Ala. — When Congress was debating bills on embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage back in May, an e-mail from the Christian Coalition of America appeared in activists' inboxes.
"Christian Coalition Announces Support for 'Net Neutrality' to Prevent Giant Phone and Cable Companies From Discriminating Against Web Sites," it said.
For John W. Giles, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, the e-mail was yet another sign that the famous political powerhouse of the religious right had strayed from its founding mission: defending marriage, strengthening the family and protecting unborn human life.
"The Christian Coalition is drifting to the left," Giles said. "There's a new vision -- and we're not part of it."
Last month, the Christian Coalition of Alabama announced that it was severing ties with the national organization.
It's one of a growing number of chapters to express frustration as the Christian Coalition broadens its mission to include issues such as so-called Internet neutrality, the minimum wage and the environment.
In March, the Christian Coalition of Iowa announced it was changing its name to Iowa Christian Alliance. Steve Scheffler, the president of the group, said the national organization, which is struggling to raise funds and is accumulating debt, had lost focus and become "an albatross around our necks."
In July, the Christian Coalition of Ohio pulled out too.
The breakaway of Alabama -- a strong affiliate with 1,900 volunteers and links with more than 13,000 churches -- underscores the grass-roots decline of the organization credited with helping the Republican Party consolidate power in Washington in the 1990s.
Founded in 1989 by Republican televangelist Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition became politically influential under the direction of Ralph Reed, distributing millions of voter guides in churches and coordinating major voter drives.
Today, neither of those high-profile leaders is affiliated with the organization -- Reed left in 1997, Robertson in 2001. And though it continues to claim large numbers of followers, in the last decade its annual budget has plummeted, from about $26 million down to $1 million.
Despite the loss of the state chapters and its limited finances, the organization remains strong, according to its president, Roberta Combs.
