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against their opponents on the Christian Right?

 
 
Reply Thu 21 May, 2015 07:02 pm
Does "against their opponents on the Christian Right" mean "(secularists who are) against their opponents (these opponents are for/supporting the Christian Right) on the Christian Right"?

Context:

While this book is intended for people of all faiths, it has been written in the form of a letter to a Christian. In it, I respond to many of the arguments that Christians put forward in defense of their religious beliefs. The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists in our society, who believe that religion should be kept out of public policy, against their opponents on the Christian Right. Consequently, the "Christian" I address throughout is a Christian in a narrow sense of the term. Such a person believes, at a minimum, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that only those who accept the divinity of Jesus Christ will experience salvation after death. Dozens of scientific surveys suggest that well over half of the American population subscribes to these beliefs. Of course, such metaphysical commitments do not imply any particular denomination of Christianity. Conservatives in every sect - Catholics,
mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, Baptists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and so on - are
equally implicated in my argument. As is well known, the beliefs of conservative Christians now exert an extraordinary influence over our national discourse - in our courts, in our schools, and in every branch of government.
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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 363 • Replies: 4
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oristarA
 
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Reply Sun 24 May, 2015 08:47 pm
@oristarA,
Mark: zero replies.
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McTag
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Reply Mon 25 May, 2015 03:05 am
@oristarA,
Quote:
The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists in our society, who believe that religion should be kept out of public policy, against their opponents on the Christian Right.


The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists against their opponents.
Their opponents are right-wing christians.
oristarA
 
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Reply Mon 25 May, 2015 05:20 am
@McTag,
McTag wrote:

Quote:
The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists in our society, who believe that religion should be kept out of public policy, against their opponents on the Christian Right.


The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists against their opponents.
Their opponents are right-wing christians.


Crystal clear.
But " opponents on the Christian Right" sounds like "people who oppose the Christian Right." I wonder whether some native English speakers would misunderstand it as well.
FBM
 
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Reply Mon 25 May, 2015 06:16 am
@oristarA,
No, I don't think any of us would misunderstand it. We use the preposition "on" when locating members of opposing sides or teams. "He's on the losing team." "Whose team are you on?" etc.

For "people who oppose the Christian Right" we'd replace "on" with "of":
"opponents of the Christian Right."
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