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Commentary - Sep 13, 2008 - Printable Version
- Keeping the Democratic Faith
by S. K. Eleton - Theocracy Watch
The Democrats have been going all out to reach the religious voter this year. First of all, the party candidates have nearly all emphasized religious themes from the very beginning of the campaign cycle. They have responded to questions about their favorite Bible verses. Many of them, in answering questions about their favorite teachers, have managed to come up with a person of faith. They have appeared in churches around the country, and have appeared on faith forums. Now the nomination has been handed to the most religious of all the candidates, and the signs are worrisome that he intends to usher in a theocracy. It has gone beyond the casual comment, the ubiquitous “God Bless America” at the end of every stump speech, and the gentle references to how faith has brought them through all the hard times. In a move totally unprecedented in the history of the United States, Barack Obama and John McCain appeared side by side on stage at the Saddleback Church with Rick Warren, to be quizzed by thousands of evangelical Christians. They were both seeking the endorsement of the popular pastor, and hoping to gain the distinct advantage that can come to someone who aligns with the megachurches. For anyone who thinks this can be put aside with the oft-repeated refrain, “Oh, well, we’re a nation of Christians”, I want you to think again. This was one of the most frightening turns that the campaign could have taken. Both parties have now inextricably bound up their futures with religion, and all that such an alignment entails. Lest you think this is overheated rhetoric on my part, let’s fast forward a mere couple of weeks to the Democratic National Convention. At the convention, religious talk was abundant. The CEO of the convention is a preacher, and made sure that convention material included plenty of religion. Carefully planned invocations and benedictions every night of the convention endeavored to be inclusive, and included a rabbi, a nun, and a Greek Orthodox archbishop. The convention benedictions culminated with an Evangelical pastor, registered Republican, and outspoken abortion opponent, who delivered the benediction following Obama’s acceptance speech on Thursday night. For those of you who failed to catch the benediction, let me clue you in. It was indeed inclusive – of anyone who is willing to believe in some sort of Supreme Being, that is. At the very end, the pastor very carefully instructed all those present to conclude the prayer in whatever way their religion practices. He, of course, concluded in Jesus’ name. As for everyone else, the total cacophony of this modern day Tower of Babel at that point made it impossible to make out any other names. You can sure as hell bet no atheist would have felt comfortable at the Democratic Convention.
No atheist would be made to feel welcome in the Democratic Party in the lead up to the convention, either. An interfaith gathering was held on Sunday preceding the convention, with speakers including priests, rabbis, imams, and religious scholars. The Secular Coalition of America, which lobbies for the interests of non-theists in the hostile halls of Congress, requested the inclusion of non-believers in the speaking schedule. Their letter was never answered, and no non-believer was put on the program to represent the approximately 63 million Americans who do not have faith in the existence of a supreme being of any kind. The CEO of the convention, Leah Daughtry, a pastor herself, stated that the Democrats were a people of faith. This was too much for Robert Tiernan, an agnostic who had been protesting the mixing of religion and politics at the convention. He had attended the interfaith gathering, and at this point, decided he needed to speak up. He stood up and said, “I’m a Democrat, but I’m not a person of faith. This looks like a church service to me and I never thought I would see the Democrats doing something like this”. At this point, the police escorted Tiernan from the hall, and told him he could leave or stick around to see what the Democrats wanted to do to him. While no charges were ever pressed, and no actions were taken against this (rather mild) protestor, the very fact that such a thing occurred serves as a symbolic notification to all people who are non-believers: you are not welcome here, and you will be escorted to the door if you show your godless atheist colors.
To add insult to injury, the reports of the event in the Wall Street Journal the next day indicated that Tiernan was a loud, abusive protestor who attempted to “shout down” the speakers at the convention. This is, of course, to be expected, since the moment any non-believer tries to speak up and suggest that they are a non-believer, they are believed to have become hostile, abusive, and extreme. This rebuke usually comes about no matter how gentle the statement of non-belief, no matter how mild-mannered the individual who makes the statement. No statement of non-belief, it seems, can be seen as anything other than “shouting” and “abusive”. In addition, the Journal added insult to injury by suggesting that the Freedom From Religion Foundation billboard that has been on display in Denver for a few weeks changed its message because of pressure from the Democratic Party. The original billboard read simply “Imagine No Religion” over a stained glass window, with the URL of the FFRF; the new billboard read “Keep Religion OUT of Politics”, as a pointed message to the Democratic Convention. Apparently, the Journal perceived this second message as “toned down”. According to the paper, “The religious Dems did win one round, apparently, when the convention organizers convinced the Freedom From Religion folks to replace their ‘Imagine No Religion’ sign posted in downtown Denver with a billboard that only says ‘Keep Religion OUT of Politics’”. I’m not sure exactly what constitutes a milder message in this billboard; in fact, it is much more blunt and to the point. The FFRF member, Robert Tiernan (see above), who was sponsoring the billboard, had requested the change of wording. It wasn’t likely it was going to be able to stay up during the convention at all, because of the increased cost of advertising during this event; however, a group of generous donors from the Foundation were able to make up the difference and keep the billboard up in spite of the additional cost. When contacted by a representative of the Freedom from Religion Foundation requesting a correction from the Wall Street Journal, their defense was simply that this charge was all over the blogs. Apparently, it’s a new take on an old line – it was on the Internet, Uncle Jed, so it must be true.
The Democrats, it seems, have taken their stand on theocracy, and it isn’t good. Theocracy, they seem to suggest, is alright, as long as it is “inclusive” theocracy. I’ll leave all the linguistic specialists and theologians out there to sort out exactly what sort of theocracy could ever be “inclusive”; I’ll just take my position now that any theocracy, whether it’s called theocracy or simply “politics as if faith mattered”, is still theocracy, and is forbidden by the US Constitution. There was a reason why theocracy was rejected by those who founded this country. Throughout history, when government and religion become entangled, it is the ordinary folks who suffer. Tolerant theologians, once they gain power, drop the tolerance so common among those who are in the minority, and become tyrannical. John Calvin preached tolerance; once he gained the ability to impose his will, however, he imposed his will with impunity. This, it appears, is the current position of the leaders of the Democratic Party. They are tolerant to the point of inanity when it comes to believers of all stripes, but they, like everyone else, reserve the right to be intolerant of anyone who chooses to exercise their Constitutional right – no, their HUMAN right – not to believe.
I can’t wait for the Republican National Convention.
Take action to prevent a theocracy from the left. Contact the Democratic National Committee, and tell them it’s time to stand up for separation of church and state, and to quit mixing religion and politics.
Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
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