On the Political Centering of Religion

A new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reveals a clear trend toward an electorate becoming less tolerant of the mixing of politics and religion. This is very interesting data in light of the Democratic Party's recent efforts to chip away at the stranglehold of support Republicans have enjoyed from the religiously inclined for some time.

From the Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum on CNN in April of this year to Barack Obama's venturing into the lion's den of Rick Warren's Saddleback Church earlier this month, it appears as though the political support of religious people is a commodity ever-increasing in value despite what the numbers say.

These opposing observations seem to point to an escalating of the culture wars being waged on the political battle grounds, with Republicans trending toward a less rigid brand of religiosity, while Democrats are simply trending toward more religiosity in general. While these trends no doubt owe their emergence to the political realities of eroding popularity among traditional voting constituencies, they also point to the somewhat homogenizing effect these very trends are having on society at large. Forces now commonly referred to as the religious left and moderate evangelicals have emerged to employ more politically expedient tactics for the upcoming presidential election.

A close look at the agendas of these new coalitions reveals much commonality of aspiration among them. The newer more centrist right now shares with the progressive religious groups of the new left focus on a broad range of issues including hunger, poverty, the environment, AIDS, health care, corporate responsibility, and human rights - issues more traditionally associated with the secular progressive movement.

Oddly, both secular atheists and the religious faithful are likely to claim benefit from these trends. Even though the conservative right wing of the Republican Party is becoming increasingly marginalized as a political force at present, they can nonetheless claim an overall advancement of their agenda by noting the increased courting of the religious by liberal Democrats. Conversely, ever hopeful skeptics would point out that eliminating the extremism of ultra conservatives is simply a must-take, first step on the long road to a more secular society.

Ultimately, the privileged status religion enjoys in this country is not likely to change any time soon, but the redefining of priorities reveals a sense of self-doubt on both sides. Election '08 may yet prove to be a watershed moment for the relationship between religion and politics in America.

Barack Obama and Religion / Secularism

I recently told Jami, my loving wife, I had finally come to a decision on whom to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. “Who? Ralph Nader, again?” was her reply. Okay, my disillusionment has gotten the better of me the last three or four election cycles, and Nader has been ‘my man’ for quite some time. Yes, they were primarily protest votes. But what was my protest based upon? Oddly enough—religion.

Quite peculiarly, I am not even aware of Ralph Nader’s religious proclivities, and maybe that’s the point. All of the mainstream candidates had gone to great lengths to accommodate the religiously inclined by pandering to their interests, at least with their rhetoric. This election is no different. Or is it?

Barack Obama has given this atheist reason for hope and here’s why: The mere acceptance of non-believers into the arena of national dialog is no small feat. Not that long ago President George H. W. Bush perceived himself so immune from criticism on this subject that he openly questioned whether atheists and non-believers should be considered as citizens and patriots at all. Whereas, Barack Obama has clearly articulated the appropriateness of including non-believers in national discussions about faith and politics. That may not seem like much, but I’ll take small victories whenever and wherever I can.

Barack Obama is the first major party candidate in a long time to possess a political résumé that includes openly decrying the disproportionate influence of religious sects in our society. (In 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater confronted religious conservatives and warned them not to try to tell him how to vote on any legislation.) That is not to say Mr. Obama doesn’t succumb to talking out of both sides of his mouth on occasion. He has done his own fair share of religious pandering—no doubt for the sake of political survival. My deep-seated hunch is that he is keenly aware the road to a more secular society must be paved at a cautiously deliberate pace so as not to over agitate the tyrannical religious majority. This ocean of religiosity will need to be emptied one teaspoon at a time.

The religious right likely convulses when they hear Mr. Obama say even simple things like: “Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values,” or “their proposals be subject to argument and amenable to reason,” a couple of things religious dogma doesn’t lend itself to.

So I can forgive Barack Obama’s pandering to the religiously inclined for the sake of political expediency, because my gut tells me he is merely working within the existing social framework to effect the change he ultimately desires: a more secular society where religion is not expelled from public life, but rather has its stranglehold on government institutions greatly diminished.