My partner asked me the other day when did Hillary become so Christian? Hillary has recently been quoted, saying that faith helped her through her marital strife. Isn't that sweet? In fact a belief in religiosity, specifically Christianity, has increased in the last eight years, this identity with faith. Not long ago this was not an issue; a Presidential debate between Gore and Bill Bradley in early 2000 just before the NH primary election, a questioner asked Bradley about his faith and he said something to the effect that he does not belong to any faith or religion. End of sentence. Not a peep from the questioner, nor a sentence in the paper the next day. Can we imagine that today? How did this happen and can we get back there?
According to a recent poll Americans are a very religious country. "86 percent of Americans believe in God - only 6 percent 'don’t believe.' 75 percent describe Christianity as their 'religious preference' - only 11 percent say they have 'none.' A large percentage of U.S. Christians profess fundamentalist beliefs: 43 percent of Protestants describe themselves as 'born-again or evangelical' Christians. Typically, they have dogmatic, conservative beliefs: the Bible is literally true; the end times are coming soon; and the United States must become a Christian nation." Ahhh scary?
A recent column from James Robinson is worth noting about a John Edwards comment to embrace religious diversity. “So while some candidates profess to be true Christians, they feel a responsibility to embrace Islam, Atheism, Scientology, the New Age movement and every other belief (or at least select portions of them). Their wisdom holds that their leadership role demands a dualistic split between attitudes and actions. They personally want moral legislation, as defined by most mainstream Christians, but feel duty-bound to not provide it.” Robinson invoked “true Christian believer” imagery: the notion that real Christians don’t accept theological diversity; for them there is only one source of truth, the Bible.
Sam Harris on the other hand linked those who profess to know the written word of God are not far off from the Islamic inspired terrorism attacks on 9/11. He argued those that inspired the attacks of 9/11 are similar to the central tenets of ultra-conservative Christianity: there is one true religion; anyone who does not accept that religion is, by definition, an infidel; unbelievers will not get into heaven; and, for those who are shown the truth, the ends justify the means.
Personally, I don't believe religion should be discussed in the open sphere whatsoever. It only divides us. And giving power to those who seek to claim this country as a "Christian nation" are dangerous. Recently, however Barack Obama spoke at the Convention of the United Church of Christ. Obama has tended to turn me off when he brings up religion, not because of what he is saying, but at times I feel he is ingratiating himself with the right. Much like Hillary's comments above.
But, I like what he said at this conference: Obama declared that religion has a role to play in politics, but defined it as the role of inclusion. He talked about uniting Americans to deal with poverty and environmental degradation. He said somewhere, somehow faith stopped being used as a way to bring us together, faith started being used to drive us apart, faith got hijacked. And he said the Christian leaders of the right are all too eager to exploit what divides us.
5 comments:
Well said Kid. On a related note, did you see the edict that Pope Benedict felt a need to remind everyone of the other day? Apparently, according to the Pontiff, only Roman Catholicism is the true religion of Christ and that the other Christian religions have "defects" that will apparently keep members of these non-Catholic sects from redemption. While this edict is unlikely to gain any traction here in the U.S. or have much effect on the upcoming presidential election, they are certainly another example of the type of fundamentalist thinking that pervades just about every religion.
I saw Hillary on Oprah a couple of years ago when Hillary was promoting her book. Oprah asked her how she was able to get through Bill's infidelities and continue in the marriage. It was at that time that Hillary attributed staying with Bill to her deep faith in God. So this game she's playing with the religious right is nothing new, though it's still contrived and meant to manipulate voters.
I, like Kid Radical, get an uneasy feeling when any candidate for political office starts preaching the word of God and invokes the name of Jesus in order to get votes. Edwards does this, Hillary does this, and God knows (no pun intended) Bush has and continues to do this.
But I think Barack is different. In his second book, "The Audacity of Hope," he speaks candidly about his own faith and the state of religion in politics. Paraphrasing would only do injustice to his position, so I will quote straight from his book:
"Our failure as progressives to tap into the moral underpinnings of the nation is not just rhetorical, though. Our fear of getting 'preachy' may also lead us to discount the role that values and culture play in addressing some of our most urgent social problems.... I am not suggesting that every progressive suddenly latch on to religious terminology or that we abandon the fight for institutional change in favor of a 'thousand points of light.' ... I am suggesting that if we progressives shed some of our own biases, we might recognize the values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We might recognize that the call to sacrifice on behalf of the next generation, the need to think in terms of 'thou' and not just 'I,' resonates in religious congregations across the country. We need to take faith seriously not simply to block the religious right but to engage all persons of faith in the larger project of American renewal."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
agreed, sort of. While I believe there is a place as MLK, jr. proved and that religion can bring out the best in people we are such a diverse nation of people in so many religions or non-religions it turns some off when even speaking about God even in a tolerant way. Because some don't believe at all, which is their/our right under the 1st Amendment as it is others right to speak about religion. Just don't support it as our religion which seems to me what Barack was saying.
When Barack says "all persons of faith" in the American renewal where are the no persons of faith left?
Interesting point. Maybe Barack means that all persons are persons of faith, whether they believe in God or not. Maybe you have faith in your country or yourself or your own philosophy. I don't know.
“Your church is a baby-house made of blocks.”
-- Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,1849
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