Prominent evangelicals urged Christian conservatives Wednesday to support "an expansion of our concerns beyond single-issue politics," angering some leaders on the religious right who have been closely allied with the Republican Party.

In a 19-page document called "An Evangelical Manifesto," more than 70 theologians, pastors and others said faith and politics have been too closely mixed. They warned against Christians adopting any one political view.

"That way faith loses its independence, Christians become 'useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology," they wrote.

Many veteran Christian activists on the right do not support the declaration.

James Dobson, founder of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, reviewed the document but did not sign it, said Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Dobson. Dobson consulted the group's board of directors, and the board agreed he shouldn't sign "due to myriad concerns about the effort," Schneeberger said.

"One of the things that disappointed Dr. Dobson was that when the manifesto was initially circulated, no African-American pastors or theologians were on the invite list," Schneeberger said. "His thinking was, 'How can this purport to represent the voice of evangelicals when people so vital to who we are as a movement are excluded from involvement?' "

He would not discuss any other of Dobson's concerns.

The Rev. John Huffman, pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, a megachurch in Pasadena, Calif., acknowledged the effort lacks participation from blacks and women. But he said the initial signers are merely a beginning and "anyone can sign on if this resonates with them."

Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country, said he was not asked to sign the document. The Southern Baptists routinely receive video greetings from President Bush at their annual meetings.

Janice Shaw Crouse, director of the Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, said the manifesto was "blurring the distinctions between liberal and conservative" and would confuse Christian voters about the issues that are most important: opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Among the drafters and preliminary supporters of the manifesto are Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary in California; Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners Magazine; and Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters.

The manifesto has been in development for a few years, and organizers said they did not time the release for the presidential election. Republican candidate John McCain has been struggling to win over evangelicals.