Amid new parties, new allegiances and new political priorities, the evangelical Christian vote has lost some of its clout in Washington. Mark Smith, a political science professor at the Christian Cedarville University in Ohio, believes the movement isn’t receding so much as adapting to a younger generation of evangelicals. Smith, 40, was in Washington this week to discuss his book, “Meandering to Zion: The Political Thought of the Christian Left,” co-authored with colleagues Marc Clauson and Thomas Mach. He spoke with The Washington Examiner about his own faith, and the room within it for political debate. Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?

I am an evangelical Christian. People might define it in different ways, but I consider it the position that has been well represented throughout American history by Christians themselves. I grew up in a Christian family with parents who worked really hard to model their faith in how they lived their lives. It was obvious to me as a child not only that my parents could speak the language of their faith, but that they lived it out. It was at the core of who we were as a family. My faith has offered me a coherent view of the world. It’s a comprehensive faith, and it takes into account all aspects of reality. For people who are curious, like me, and have a lot of questions, Christianity has a lot of answers.