I believe it was the onset of the Teaparty. I mean these people are scary stupid.
Before the TEA Party we had the 'Moral Majority'.
It actually goes back to the 50's & 60's when Christians began to see their political power, both assumed and real, being eroded in the courts as groups began to demand the equal protection promised by the word "all" in the founding documents.
Their plan, starting in the 70's, was a good one, take the state legislatures and Gerrymander a foothold in the state legislatures that would influence the national stage for decades.