Religious Tolerance a Must in the 2008 Election Cycle
May 29th, 2008
Sen. John McCain showed political courage and personal principle when as a presidential candidate eight years ago he denounced Pat Robertson and Rev. Jerry Falwell as “agents of intolerance.” But the senator seemed to have a revelation on the road to the White House this year when he courted the political blessing of Texas televangelist John Hagee, who has called the Catholic Church “the Great Whore” and a “false cult system.” Rev. Hagee’s extremist views have also offended Jews, women and most Americans who recognize that religion’s vital role in our democracy is betrayed by bigotry and ignorance.
Despite months of heavy pressure from Catholic groups to reject Rev. Hagee, Sen. McCain dithered and danced until last week when more of the pastor’s bizarre theological musings came to light. After learning that the pastor had once preached that God allowed the rise of Adolf Hitler because it helped return Israel to the Jewish people, Sen. McCain finally did the right thing and rejected the endorsement. He also rejected the support of Rod Parsley, an Ohio pastor whose anti-Muslim sermons are deeply offensive.
While Catholics are sure to wonder why Sen. McCain ever sought an endorsement from Rev. Hagee in the first place, it’s encouraging that the senator has recognized his mistake. Hate speech of any kind violates a central principle of Christian teaching: the sacred dignity of each human person. It has no place in a country strengthened by religious and cultural diversity, and our presidential election is diminished by it. Our nation’s faith traditions have always been at the forefront of renewing our democratic values of equality, justice and commitment to the common good. Certainly, voters and presidential candidates should not be expected to leave their faith behind when they enter the public square. Religion is an indispensable wellspring of ethical wisdom that can help us remember the profound moral dimensions at the heart of our most critical public policy challenges. But too often when faith and politics mix in an election year the results are troubling. Mitt Romney is forced to explain Mormonism. Sen. Barack Obama, a Christian, is subject of rumors that he is a Muslim. Mike Huckabee recommends amending the Constitution to reflect “Christian values.”
This is why our organization, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, joined together with Faith in Public Life several months ago to coordinate an important statement, Keeping Faith: Principles to Protect Religion on the Campaign Trail. Signed by more than two dozen Catholic and Protestant scholars, pastors and social justice leaders, Keeping Faith affirms the essential role of religion in our civic and political life but warns that exclusionary religious rhetoric and the relentless scrutiny of candidate’s religious views undermines our American commitment to both religious freedom and non-establishment of religion. When candidates are “pressed to pronounce the nature of their religious beliefs, asked if they believe every word of the Bible, forced to fend off warnings by a few religious authorities about reception of sacraments, compelled to confront derogatory and false allegations of radical Muslim childhood education, and faced with prejudicial analyses of their denominational doctrines,” the leaders write in the statement, religion and democracy both suffer.
Now that the media firestorm is slowly subsiding over Rev. Hagee and other problematic pastors, it’s time for a meaningful debate about the role of faith in politics. The headlines won’t be sensational, but the conversation could finally generate more light than heat.
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