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GOD AND POLITICS
Voters want public officials to have faith, but they don't want religion to rule government
Social Security. Education. Abortion. Prescription drugs. Medicare. The environment. Religion. Religion? Yes, religion did indeed play a prominent, and apparently positive, role in the 2000 presidential campaign. Republican George W. Bush went public with his profession as a born-again Christian, a move that only served to enhance his standing. And Democrat Al Gore watched his political stock soar after choosing his running mate, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, a devout and thoroughly upfront Jew. How unlike 1960, when John F. Kennedy raised fears among voters that the Vatican would influence the nation's first Catholic president. Religion has long been considered dangerous political territory. But in this campaign, skeptics aside, devotion seemed merely to inspire confidence. What gives? As it happens, The Pew Research Center and The Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life finished its survey on that very subject in September. Those pollsters discovered that most registered voters (70 percent of 2,000 surveyed) want their president to have faith. Further, 77 percent of the respondents in the Pew survey had favorable attitudes toward Jews. The center noted that its survey coincided with the selection of Lieberman, the first Jew to appear on a major party's ticket. Voters still draw a line, though, when it comes to mixing religion and government. The reason an Orthodox Jew got such a favorable response among a mainly Christian electorate, according to an editorial in Chicago-based The Christian Century magazine, is that "Lieberman appears to be religious in the right way: He projects a sense of integrity and rootedness without seeming dangerously alien to those who don't share his faith. "As a Jew, Lieberman may actually be more free to talk about how he keeps his faith than a devout Catholic or evangelical Christian would be." Judaism, the editorial notes, historically has had a deep commitment to religious and social tolerance, so "Lieberman's God-talk is not likely to conjure up fears of coercion or domination." It might be inspiring to hear Democrat Lieberman espouse Old Testament morals, or Republican Bush promote New Testament principals. But only to a point. "There is widespread discomfort over politicians who speak publicly about how religious they are," the Pew report notes. Only 45 percent of survey respondents were comfortable having a president who talks about his religious beliefs. Most observers concur with those results. "It is perfectly OK for [Lieberman] to have his own personal beliefs and religion," says Arlene Holloman, Illinois director of the national nonprofit American Atheists. "You just don't want one person's religious philosophy to be held over the entire nation. You want what is good for the nation as a whole." While the electorate may value the separation of church and state, the response to Lieberman does seem to point to an appreciation of moral values. But that response may be specific to this election. Both parties promoted "new" leadership as a counter to the moral debacle of the Clinton Administration, says James Penning, a political science professor at Calvin College, a reformed Christian school in Michigan. Further, Lieberman's outspokenness gave Vice President Al Gore the advantage of focusing on policy, while showing a moral, compassionate edge, Penning says. "I think a lot of people view the statements more as campaign rhetoric that won't have an impact 18 November 2000 Illinois Issues www.uis.edu/~ilissues on policy." That's not to say religion doesn't influence policy at the national or state level. It was no surprise that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat and a Catholic, promoted a legislative proposal this year to provide state funding to parochial schools for state mandates. Harvard political scientist Anna Greenberg, who over a two-year period studied Protestant and Catholic churches in Chicago and Boston, concludes that "churches are incubators of a politicized citizenry." The University of Chicago-trained scholar attended services and Bible study groups and conducted more than 60 interviews with clergy and church members. "Churches and their leaders are embedded in networks of political influence," she says, noting that religious leaders are asked for advice on political issues and political leaders often tackle churches' social service campaigns. Two decades ago, the Christian Right challenged the notion that the deeply religious should shun politics. Relying on a massive grass-roots organization, the Christian Coalition began advocating issues and candidates. "The people I've talked to are looking for something that's real, and I think faith provides that for people," says John Dickey, executive director of the Illinois Christian Coalition. "I think people are refreshed when they see a leader who stands for what's right, whether it's popular or not." But the Christian Right movement has had only minimal impact on the GOP in Illinois, according to Clyde Wilcox's book Onward Christian Soldiers?. In fact, this state is home to many different beliefs and opinions. That's true of the nation, as well. And perhaps for that reason, just a slight majority, 51 percent, of the Pew respondents agreed that it is appropriate for religious organizations to express political viewpoints. Thus, it's a narrow path a candidate such as Lieberman walks. Doubly so because the Jewish community is the first to cry foul when faith goes public. "When religion gets in politics, that's a scary thing because when you're a religious minority, it could be your religious rights that are stomped on or lost in the shuffle," says Betsy Salus, chairwoman of the Illinois Jewish Community Relations Council. But even she seems to be of two minds on the matter, reflecting the public's ambivalence about putting God into politics. "I also think people who are in places of decision-making who reflect your religious values is a pretty important thing," she says. "I think people feel comfortable with someone who has a strong faith base, even if it's not their own." Amy Burch is a reporter for the Decatur Herald & Review.
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