They point out passages in Scripture: Eve’s origin as subordinate to Adam; the Old Testament leader Deborah’s implication that it was shameful that she had to step up to lead the Israelites when male leaders faltered; the New Testament verses that say “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.”

“The Old Testament is very clear that Yahweh desires men to lead,” said Owen Strachan, who heads the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The purpose of Strachan’s organization — to insist on separate roles for men and women in modern life — is itself an unpopular view, he acknowledges upfront. “I do stand for a culturally despised position.”

But he believes the Bible has laid out spheres for men and for women that should last for all time. “A good number of evangelicals would probably prefer to see men lead in the political arena, and I would be one of them,” Strachan said. “Many evangelicals would say that men need to be the ones who step up and take responsibility, not simply for the home and the church, but also for the community.”