President Kennedy ended his inaugural address by suggesting that anyone trying to make the world a better place ought to ask the lord’s blessing and his help -- but that we should know “that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”
That wasn’t the least bit controversial then. We believed that church and state should be separate. Indeed, JFK had to spend a lot of time during the campaign convincing the voters that his true loyalty would be to the American people, not to the Pope. But things have changed. In his spellbinding new book American Theocracy, former GOP strategist Kevin Phillips argues that the Republicans have become America’s first truly religious party -- and that this is a revolutionary and frightening development.
If you doubt that he is right, consider this. Imagine a deeply religious preacher who decides it is his Christian duty to tell his flock who they should vote for in the next election. Do you picture him as a deeply committed liberal who wants to commit politicians to stopping wars and spending more money on helping the nation and world’s poor? Or do you see him as a plump, silver-haired evangelist who tells his flock that President Bush is a man of God who will make it a high priority to prevent homosexual marriage, and hopefully name more Supreme Court justices who will help overturn Roe vs. Wade?
You know the answer. Ann Arbor surgeon Bob O’Neal does too, and isn’t happy about it. He is a Christian, and is mightily unhappy with the idea that God has been hijacked by the religious right. So he has helped found something called the Interfaith Partnership for Political Action, or IPPA. They think religious people should concentrate more on seeing that their ethical values are reflected in political decisions. That means, first of all, things like common sense and telling the truth. IPPA members include Christians of all denominations, Muslims, Jews, agnostics and non-believers. When it comes to ethical values, what they agree on is that politicians should have some, and tell us how they will use them to make decisions.
That sounds refreshingly sane. What remains to be seen is whether this group can have any impact. I have to say I am pessimistic. What they stand for is extremely subtle, and that doesn’t mesh very well with today’s attention deficit media and a citizenry that is always on stress overload, including the weekends.
H. L. Mencken, the irreverent iconoclast of 1920s journalism, once said that he thought that in a century, the only religions that would survive would be the most flamboyant and least rational. “That’s because “they give ‘em a movie. It‘s a B movie, but it is still a movie,” he said. The Interfaith Partnership doesn’t have any movies; instead, it wants to involve people in very complex theater. What remains to be seen is whether there are enough like-minded people of faith to have any effect on the process at all.
I don't know if you are right or wrong in your assessment, I can only hope you are wrong. There is a movement nationally that focuses on the same issues, headed by Rabbi Michael Lerner. His "Network of Spiritual Progressives" is intent on reclaiming our country from the religious right. He has some very good ideas and would make a good topic for another of your programs.
Posted by: Neale Bauman | June 14, 2006 at 12:09 PM
All religions either Christian, Muslim, Budhist all teachs us to respect other religion and community, then why peoples are abusing each other, my humble request to all respectable heads of the religion, please explain the follower's to respect the religion, believe in peace and help mankind.
Thank you very much.
Posted by: ismaili | June 18, 2006 at 01:13 PM
Firstly, not all evangelist are horrible brain washed people. I resent that comment. >__>
Other than that, I agree. This pattern worries me also. There was a event in American History called 'The Great Disappointment'. A Baptist preacher said you calculated the day Christ would return. About 50,000 joined his movement. On the day, he said would be the last, people tied up loose ends, paid their bills, quit their jobs, ect. When the day come and went a lot of people were left without jobs, homes, and ect.
I see this happen again because well, Americans don't know history and more importantly don't learn from the mistakes of their ancestors.
And Mr. Lessenberry, sorry if you know his really well.
Posted by: Ksenia | June 29, 2007 at 11:45 PM