And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus of Nazareth
If you have listened to any of the Republican debates, you will have heard countless times references to “Jesus Christ.” Indeed, Sam Brownback can hardly let a question go by without reminding the audience that Jesus is his personal savior, and most of his fellow debaters aren’t shy either in proclaiming their allegiance to the Son of Man. The purpose of all this “I’m the REAL Christian in this race” self promotion, is, of course, directly related to the elephant in the room, the political rise of the religious right over the last 50 years, from Bill Bright and Jerry Fallwell, through Pat Robertson and James Kennedy and now John Hagee and James Dobson, and all the other, lesser luminaries in the Christian Right’s cosmos. The power these individuals wield to influence millions of “born again” conservative voters is nothing to be sneered at.
Through their careful manipulation of the media, and their numerous networks of churches, internet sites and radio and television programs, they have managed to convince millions of lower and middle class Americans, predominately white, and often homed-schooled with text books produced by Christian publishing houses, that they are under attack by a vast, secular conspiracy inspired by Satan, and determined to destroy the “faithful” and their families in America. Using abortion, prayer in school and fear of gay men and women as their “point of the spear” issues, they have literally convinced millions of white “Christians” that despite being members of the majority religion and race in America, they are actually the victims of persecution and discrimination.
The psycho-dynamics of why these purveyors of hate have been so successful is beyond the purview of this essay, and indeed my poor powers of deduction to explain, much less comprehend. But there is one thing of which I am fairly certain, and which I can state without fear of any reasoned rebuttal. The basis for the success of this “Christian movement” is founded upon the bedrock emotions of fear and hate. Fear of economic dislocation, of technological change, of science and of modernity itself. And hatred of those whom their leaders have chosen to scapegoat as the source of these fears: gays, “secular humanists” (code for scientists,social workers and atheists), “liberals” (code for Democrats), Hollywood (all too often a code for American Jews), “illegal aliens” (code for Latinos), welfare recipients (code for African Americans) and last, but not least in this post-9/11 world, “Isalmofascists” (a term which is self explanatory).
It is a politics, a religion and a world view of exclusion and demonization. And because of this appeal to fear and hatred, policies and principles which have little if anything to do with the teachings of Jesus, as set forth in the New Testament, have been attached to this new American Gospel. Taxes are evil. Government is bad. Social programs to alleviate suffering are wasteful. Wealth is good, and a reward for living a godly life. Preserving and conserving nature, and protecting the environment, are unnecessary extravagances (since God has given man dominion over the earth). Public health is merely haven for godless policies and programs such as sex education. The Bible reveals a greater truth than science, which should be opposed and rejected if it conflicts with what faith teaches us. Abortion is murder. Stem cell research is blasphemy. Public schools brainwash children to hate God and their own families. Natural disasters are God’s way of punishing the wicked. War in the name of a Christian God is a moral and spiritual necessity. And liberals are the basis of all evil in America.
The list could go on forever, but the essential point is that in today’s heated political climate, when God or “faith” are proclaimed by a politician, all too often it is done so for the express purpose of providing the audience with a quick and easy shorthand way to inform them that the candidate shares the goals and beliefs of this radical and perverted form of Christianity. I wish it were otherwise, but the fact of the matter is that our media does not recognize the terms “Christian” or “faith” or even “spirituality” in any context other than this extremely narrow, repugnant and repulsive theology of fear and hate. Indeed, the people who once defended slavery on biblical grounds, and the people who preached that anti-semetic beliefs were justified because “the Jews” killed “our Lord,” are the ancestors of the current leaders of the religious right.
How they subverted a message of love and hope for all humankind, and why so many in this country have fallen under the sway of their teachings, is not a topic to which I can do justice in a single blog post. But the fact is that these extremists now dominate the public discussion of religion in America. No one thinks of Unitarians or mainline protestant churches, or god forbid Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism when the word faith is used in the public square. Instead, the media inevitably focuses on this one peculiar and spiteful brand of Christianity when it speaks of faith.
This is why I wrote my post yesterday about the futility of Democrats proclaiming their faith so publicly and loudly, because without any context for what they believe (and the news media is unlikely to provide that context for them) they are falling into the trap of those who would brand them liars, heretics and “false Christians.” I wish this were not the case, but Democrats speaking of “their faith” invites such distortions, smears and attacks from the right. It allows Republicans to force Democrats on the defensive to create ambiguity and confusion, and to lay the groundwork for the narrative that Democrats are hypocrites.
I began this post with a quote from the New Testament; specifically Matthew 6, verses 5 and 6, for a reason. Because I believe this is the proper tack to take when religion is raised in the political sphere. For it is, indeed, only hypocrites who feel the need to publicly proclaim their faith so that all can bear witness to it. Instead of hollow platitudes of religious piety, I would rather see Democrats refer to these very verses quoting Jesus directly. And then I would have them say this to voters:
“Judge my faith by what I do, and by the policies I propose to help people, both the sick and the poor, the jobless and those struggling to raise their families in a world of corporate outsourcing and globalization. Judge me by my actions to end a useless and vain war, and to restore our country to the path of justice and morality at both home and abroad, where war is a last resort, not the first option of a single man. Judge me by my program to protect our planet and preserve the earth for the generations of our children and grandchildren who will follow us. Judge me by my willingness to defend your rights under the Constitution, by doing away with the dual atrocities of torture and indefinite detentions without trials, and with the end of illegal spying on Americans without probable cause. Judge me by my adherence to the principle that all men and all women are created equal, and that no one should be treated differently than any other under the law. For faith without deeds is mere words, and words can deceive, whereas actions cannot.”
That is how our politicians should speak of their faith. Not by appeals to a perverted religious movement whose leaders revel in preaching fear and promoting hatred and divisiveness (even inadvertently or unintentionally because of media promoted stereotypes and narratives), but by appealing to the true values of all the great religions: love, acceptance and compassion for all living beings. In my humble opinion, of course.
