Friday, December 07, 2007

Religion & Politics...

In 2004, when I went to NYC for the Riot Relief Luncheon, James Lane Buckley was the key note speaker. His brilliant speech covered the subject of rising secularism in America. Mr. Buckley's speech cited many quotations by our founding fathers with a theme of faith and concern that the people of this nation would continue to be a people who loved God and a people who would try to discover, learn and then do God's will. Our founders knew this to be a recipe for success and when that recipe has been followed, our nation has accomplished its greatest triumphs.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, a man of deep faith, called the nation to repentance in his Thanksgiving address. He said, "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."

I think it would be interesting to see what the papers would say if President Bush said something like that. Still, I feel that Lincoln's words are true today. For example, if your only opinion of America was to be gleaned from watching network television, it would be possible to assume that ours is a nation of godless reprobates.

This morning my dad sent me an article that appeared in The Boston Globe yesterday, which quoted a statement made by former Prime Minister Tony Blair in a recent interview, ""It's difficult to talk about religious faith in our political system," Blair said. "If you are in the American political system . . . you can talk about religious faith and people say, 'Yes, that's fair enough,' and it is something they respond to quite naturally. You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter.""

I was very interested in Mr. Blair's statement because from my perspective I think it's getting difficult for American politicians to express any real religious sentiment for the same reason. Politics has been so divisive recently in America that we don't talk about political views in polite company, something I find very sad, and we mention religious faith in hushed tones so as not to be offensive to anyone. And, there is a reason that our culture is going that way. Here in Utah, several years ago there was a lawsuit, which made national headlines, to stop a local High School choir from singing religious music at Christmastime. The federal lawsuit was not successful and the U.S Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal, but people don't like to get sued.

It is true that in just the most recent history of our nation, Americans seem to want their politicians to distance themselves from God, "rising secularism" as Mr. Buckley put it. But with scandal and corruption in the halls of power in the news on a daily basis, that idea is not working out for us very well.

Americans are protective of their rights and they don't want religious belief to be any thing that is thrust upon them in any way. As I have read books over the past year about the oppression of regimes like the Taliban, I can understand some of that sentiment, but we must be careful not to take that too far, and I think we have.

George Washington said, "Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." If we don't look to God for our moral compass, our compass may fail us.

When I choose a candidate for public office, but especially for the highest office. I want to know that I have chosen one who is humble enough to pray. I hope our future leaders will be humble enough to be on their knees before God and ask that they might know in their hearts and in their minds the right course. Our nation needs leaders whose faith informs their actions and whose actions are a testament to their faith.

8 comments:

Michelle said...

So I gotta ask, was this post inspired by the MittRomney coverage I got just a glimpse of this morning? I did hear enough to catch his good sound-bite "you must have religion to truly have freedom and freedom to truly have religion" or something like that. I am still forming my opinions of him, but I thought that was a good quote. Great post Tif! And thank you so much for including me, even long-distance last night. It really meant a lot to me!

love.boxes said...

I didn't get to hear Romney's statement and I will certainly read it. I haven't chosen a candidate yet, but I am looking at Romney carefully.

I can't wait to send you all your party loot. :)

Michelle said...

It was on the morning shows today. Apparently he addressed his"mormonism".

Michelle said...

Oh, and I can't wait for the treats!

B-Blogit said...

Tony Blair Is great but he is mistaken. There have been several president canidates at least that were slandered by media and people like for their religion. Why was JFK and recently Mitt Romney prompted to speak on religion? It may be discussed more freely that the UK, my Blair may be right, but it is still difficult to do.
Mitt Romney gave a great speech that should calm fears and answer questions about his belief and how he can preform. Great timing for his campagine.
See my blog for a link to a favorable artilce about Romneys talk.

B-Blogit said...

love boxes you are right as well. It is hard and lawsuits by others like the ACLU arent helping. They banned prayer in schools and graduation proceedings in Idaho but we had one anyway.
Minnesota has a law saying it is the Spring Bunny not Easter Bunny. I put of a mini tree at work and have been asked to call it a "holiday tree".
I know what it is and it means something to me. I dont care what olders want to call it. To me it is always the easter bunny and Christmas tree.

Janice said...

I watched Mitt Romney's speech and was SO moved. I am a big fan of Glen Beck and he loved it as well. Rush Limbaugh too. He stood behind his convictions and didn't let public pressure have him shy away from his mormon faith.

allison said...

Amen. Good post. Thanks!