I just heard for the first time Barack Obama’s speech on faith and politics. It was a speech he delivered in 2006 as the keynote address at a Call to Renewal event sponsored by Sojourners. While I still disagree with Senator Obama on a number of issues, I nonetheless appreciate his fair-minded approach to dealing with our pluralistic society. The link above will take you to the video, or you if you prefer, you can read the transcript.
E.J. Dionne, Op-Ed., Washington Post said that “(Obama’s speech on faith) may be the most important pronouncement by a Democrat on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy’s Houston speech in 1960 declaring his independence from the Vatican…Obama offers the first faith testimony I have heard from any politician that speaks honestly about the uncertainties of belief.”
Below are some quotes that I hope will peak your curiosity…
This is why, if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at - to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own - we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse.
To say that men and women should not inject their “personal morality” into public policy debates is a practical absurdity; our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
I really appreciate the above observation. How many times have we heard people say that we should separate faith from politics? But quite frankly, that is impossible. Every individual lives their lives based upon their fundamental beliefs about the world around them. And I do mean every; Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, etc… and even the atheist who claims there is no God operates from a paradigm that is shaped by their beliefs.
Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.
Here I think, is where we have a lot of work to do. We must get past the place where we base our arguments on “the Bible says.” If what God says is true, then no matter what the context is, that truth will prevail. If a person won’t hear an argument from scripture, then try another approach; reason, science, nature, etc. Help them to hear God through whatever filter they are willing to listen.
I am hopeful that we can bridge the gaps that exist and overcome the prejudices each of us bring to this debate. And I have faith that millions of believing Americans want that to happen. No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool to attack and belittle and divide - they’re tired of hearing folks deliver more screed than sermon. Because in the end, that’s not how they think about faith in their own lives.
I too am hopeful.
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