Conservatism...

In my mind, when I picture the "traditional American conservative," I picture a crazy evangelical Christians, usually Southern, protesting gay marriage, abortion, or any other of the various "evils" liberal government has brought to the country. Images from the documentary Jesus Camp (which is a terrifying documentary to watch-- if you haven't seen it. Go rent it. You won't know whether to laugh or cry) immediately spring to my mind. I can hear the sound clips of interviews with the children saying that "fags" are sinners, that Harry Potter is evil, and that abortion is killing God's children. They also don't believe in evolution and want intelligent design and Genesis to be taught in public schools. All of these conservatives absolutely advocate change, and drastic ones at that, to the government. So, why are they called conservatives? 

In the Andrew Heywood reading on Conservatism, he starts out with the most commonly stated definition of conservatism that I've ever heard, "The fear or refusal to change." This is the working definition of conservatism that I've always used. Why, then, haven't I ever realized that the American conservatives that I always picture in my head don't follow that definition? They advocate for change. 

A more complex definition, for conservatism, therefore, must be used to describe American conservatism.