"If we lose California, if they defeat the marriage amendment, I'm afraid that the culture war is over and Christians have lost," the Evangelical leader told columnist Bill Berkowitz.

"I’ve never said that publicly until now," Wildmon added, "but that’s just the reality of the fact."

Proposition 8, due to be on this year's ballots in California, would reverse the effects of its Supreme Court's May 15th ruling, which affirmed equal protection under the state's constitution for same-sex couples, including equal access to civil marriage. Proposition 8 would take the exact same language from Proposition 22, voted into law in 2000 and invalidated by the ruling, and write it directly into the Constitution.

The ruling made California the second state to recognize equal marriage rights, and the first to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who reside out of state.

"California is a big dam, holding back the flood" in the "culture wars," Wildmon asserted, "and if you take down the dam in California, it’s going to flood 49 other states."

Secularism, he said, "will replace Christianity as the foundation of our society," leading to a "cultural decline."

Wildmon's proclamation could be interpreted either as a preparation for concession or a call to action, said Berkowitz. It could be a sign of the religious right's "diminishing power," but at the same time, Wildmon is tapping such forces as the Arlington Group, a group of conservatives with Republican Party ties, that he co-founded with "Godfather" of the Right Paul Weyrich. The group has called on pastors to devote time in Sunday services to discuss California's marriage rights battle.

A recent poll suggests that Californians will reject Proposition 8. 51% polled opposed the measure, with 42% saying they were in favor. "Starting out behind is usually an ominous sign for a proposition," Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo noted. "Over 90 percent of propositions that start out behind get taken down."

Other states with gay marriage bans on this year's November ballot include Arizona, the first state whose voters rejected such a measure in 2006, and Florida.

In September of 2005 and October of 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed efforts by the legislature to equalize civil marriage, saying that the people had already spoken, and it should be up to the courts or the people to make the final determination.

"I respect the Court's decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling," Schwarzenegger said in a May statement. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."