What is happening to this country?

Lately I have often times been disgusted with the news I am hearing from all over the US. Why is it exactly that the religious right is becoming so overwhelmingly powerful? And for that matter why is the Republican party (and some times the Dems too) fawning all over them. I find it deeply appalling. Like this article I read today. So, now evolution is so controversial it can't even be discussed or something. I agree that evolution hasn't been scientifically proven beyond any doubts, but can anything be proven absolutely? Of course not. But do any of these fervent religious fanatics even know what the definition of theory is? A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena. See I personally believe that evolution has so much more evidence in its favor then say I don't know Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. I mean the scientific evidence for evolution far outweighs the scanty scientific evidence for the existence of God. Which reminds me of the time I traveled by train from NYC to Oakland, and there was this 30ish married couple, who seemed really intelligent and had a couple of kids. Then when somebody mentioned evolution randomly, they got extremely offended and started to say how there was no evidence for evolution. Now I got my undergraduate degree in religious studies and anthropology, so I think that more than others I can compare the scientific evidence for the two theories of existence. Obviously one makes more sense than the other. Grrr......