Religion and politics will always mix in America

Darlene and I are political junkies. Even-numbered years are always more exciting than odd-numbered years. When we come to a presidential election year, life really gets interesting. American presidential elections are like none other. They are beautifully chaotic. We are already warming up for 2012.

American politics are made especially chaotic because we are a highly religious people who give lip service to separation of church and state. Somehow, we want our political figures to be religious, and at the same time want them to leave their religion out of political encounters. The reality is that American politics at the highest levels were dominated by a Masonic brand of Protestantism for our entire history until John F. Kennedy.

In 1960 when Kennedy and Richard Nixon competed for the presidency, there was a sizeable minority who firmly believed that a Roman Catholic president would make America subservient to Rome and the Catholic Pope. The story that circulated and made the point was this: Kennedy planned to change the name of the Statue of Liberty to Our Lady of the Harbor. Kennedy’s Catholicism was such a major issue that he made a trip to the hostile environs of Texas to make a clear statement that he was a better American than he was a Roman Catholic. He won by the narrowest of margins.

It was the 1960 presidential election that brought the issue of a political candidate’s religion into the open. The practical effect was that religion became an ongoing and open topic in American politics.

During this same period, a unique American Evangelicalism began to develop. All of American Evangelicalism as we know it today has its roots in the Baptist and Methodist traditions. In their American history, Baptists and Methodists were aggressive proselytizing denominations. In the last half of the 20th century they, except in the South, became less aggressive, but spawned both the independent and the Pentecostal Evangelical movements.

At first, American Evangelicals were politically quiet. More than any other person, Jerry Falwell perceived the potential political power of the burgeoning Evangelical movement and went into action. In 1979, he and others started a political movement, which they called The Moral Majority. The political life of American Evangelicals was given a giant push into the world of politics by The Moral Majority and Evangelicals have been a dominant political force ever since. Every American president since Jimmy Carter has found it necessary to make known their born-again experience with Jesus.

The 2008 presidential election became an even more complex web of religion and politics. John McCain quietly became an Evangelical. Mitt Romney made a speech that reminded many people of John Kennedy’s Texas declaration. Romney promised to be more American than Mormon. Barak Obama clarified his relationship to his Chicago pastor and the church where he was born again. His denial of being a Muslim is still questioned by some. McCain surprised the entire nation when he chose Sarah Palin to be his vice-presidential running mate. She was no ordinary outspoken Evangelical. She was a Pentecostal Evangelical. Pentecostalism is the fastest growing segment of American Christianity. The rise of Palin is truly historic. Palin marked the active entrance into national politics of non-trational Christianity in which personal experience trumps all other considerations. The staying power of Palin surprises some, but it does not surprise those who grasp the strength of American Pentecostalism.

Mitt Romney is considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States. In a campaign dominated by jobs, health care, finances and unpopular wars, nothing much has been said about Romney’s religion.

In Robert Putnam’s and David Campbell’s book about American religion titled “American Grace,” the authors make comments about Romney and the difficulties he has by being a Mormon. Their comments can be summarized as follows: Mormons, Evangelicals, Pentecostals and Roman Catholics have much in common. They are pro-life, oppose gay marriage and speak forcefully about family values. Mormons, Evangelicals and Pentecostals are all aggressive proselytizing faiths. They appear to be quite similar.

But are they?

Many Christians, and especially Evangelicals and Pentecostals, consider Mormons not simply heretics, but a cult. Voting for a Christian with a differing opinion can be accepted, but voting for a candidate who is a member of a cult is an entirely different matter. Most political leaders will speak of tolerance and acceptance of religious diversity; however, polls show a different story. In a 2008 Harris poll, 58 percent of Evangelicals indicated they would be bothered by a Mormon president.

The tensions produced by the intersection of religion and politics are underplayed by columnists and television talking heads. In the process they are missing a huge part of the story of the 2012 presidential elections.

And we have said nothing about the Jews, Muslims or other non-Christian faiths.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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