I can add some details to this which Chuck0 didn't mention. There are 22,000 of these conventioneers, and they are all members of the same fundamentalist pentecostal (or charismatic, though those have a slight difference of meaning) denomination which Ashcroft is a member of, the Assemblies of God (http://ag.org/). Just to be very clear: the convention is not just for youth ministers and their flocks, though those make up a large percentage of the attendees (they are specifically attending an event called the "Fine Arts Festival", which, predictably, is neither about fine art nor is it a festival in any sense).
The larger event is known as "General Council" and it's roughly equivalent to the large convention the Southern Baptists have every year: there are items of church polity up for vote by licensed ministers. Some of these are interesting in their own right, including stuff about the impermissibility of divorce ("strengthening the family"), but also a few which aim at softening the denomination's traditionally harsh stance against women leadership (not that it will make any difference in practice).
I live about 4 blocks west of the new convention center, in downtown DC, and these 22,000 (almost entirely white, as Chuck0 mentions) conventioneers have taken over this part of DC like a plague of locusts. I have been regularly talking to (and at) them in the street, when opportunity presents itself, saying random, "blasphemous" things ("Jesus was a fag" is my favorite; it really freaks'em out), as well as low-key conversations about terrorism, the Middle East, Ashcroft, etc.
I've repeatedly seen these AG conventioneers rebuff homeless folks asking for spare change, almost always by being offering a religious tract. I don't necessarily think refusing to give spare change is problematic, but offering a religious tract instead plays like a huge insult, especially given the unchanging racial dynamic.
Their stay in DC is will culminate in a big prayer event on the Mall on Sunday, where they will pray for a myriad of things, including:
Pray for God to protect families from the unholy influences coming against them. Pray for a return to biblical principles for raising families. Pray for the national promotion and protection of marriage as defined by God (one man and one woman committed for a lifetime). Pray that God would give wisdom, protection and guidance to our President and other federal leaders. Pray for unity for our nation and its leaders. Pray that God would use Christian soldiers to influence those around them. Pray for Home Missionaries serving in the inner city (this is code for "black people") Pray that everyone on campus may receive a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ this year. Pray for the effective and wise ministry of campus missionaries (students). Pray for God's anointing on campus Bible clubs. Pray that Jesus Christ may be glorified.
See the complete list here:
http://www.ag.org/top/gc2003/gc2003_ta_prayerpts.cfm
> My roommate also reports that the teens she talked to were very open to
> new ideas and weren't hostile to somebody who talked to them about activism.
Hmm, my experience doing a less subtle form of street subversion has been several instances of being told by Jesus's little commandos to "fuck off", which is a great response! (That is, it's what I rather expect someone to say, more or less, but it's a real violation of AG mores.)
An interesting anecdotal note relating this AG stuff to the recent discussion here about backlash against gay people: The AG -- even more so than the Catholic Church -- is fiercely antigay in its teaching and church policy. But, having spent the first 18 years of my life involved in this denomination in various ways, I can attest that if all the gay men were to be kicked out formally, the class of ministers (especially music ministers) would be seriously weakened.
I knew or knew of dozens and dozens of gay (all closeted) AG ministers in the Southwest part of the US (where the denomination is particularly strong). That is, the discrepancy between official teaching and the sexual orientations of the ministerial class is not much smaller than in the Catholic church.
Kendall Clark -- Jazz is only what you are. -- Louis Armstrong