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Faith-talk at the Republican convention

E-mail|Link|Comments (8) Posted by Michael Paulson September 3, 2008 11:30 PM

As a religion writer, I tend to watch the political campaign with a particular eye toward how religious themes and language are used by the candidates and their supporters. So tonight, I was interested to hear how Republicans gathered in St. Paul for their convention would deal with faith, which is such an important concern to many GOP voters, but also a sensitive subject in an increasingly pluralistic country with a growing population of nonbelievers. As with the Democrats in Denver last week, there was no particularly explicit talk of religous affiliation or beliefs. But, nonetheless, religion did come up several times, on occasion when speakers alluded to their faith, and also when speakers attacked religion-related vulnerabilities of the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.

Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, led off the prime time attacks with an oblique reference to Obama's longtime relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was the pastor of Obama's church. Here's what Steele said, apparently alluding to Wright's now-infamous "God damn America" sermon:

"It's not just about John McCain's lifetime of selfless service to a nation and its people. It's about his knowing who the enemy is and what to do about them. It's about his understanding that who you hang out with does matter, and that America, though flawed, should not be damned for creating a place so many want to call home."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said America's "glorious future" will come about "by the providence of the Almighty,'' but suggested that Democrats do not acknowledge the evil posed by Islamic terrorists, saying:

"Did you hear any Democrats talk last week about the threat from radical, violent Jihad? Republicans believe that there is good and evil in the world. Ronald Reagan called-out the Evil Empire. George Bush labeled the terror-sponsor states the Axis of Evil. And at Saddleback, after Barak Obama dodged and ducked every direct question, John McCain hit the nail on the head: radical violent Islam is evil, and he will defeat it! Republicans prefer straight talk to politically correct talk!"

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani made the same point, saying:

"For 4 days in Denver and for the past 18 months Democrats have been afraid to use the words "Islamic Terrorism." During their convention, the Democrats rarely mentioned the attacks of September 11. They are in a state of denial about the threat that faces us now and in the future."

But Giuliani drew the biggest applause with a barb at Obama for the Democrat's comment, at a fundraiser in San Francisco in April, that working-class voters "'get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.'' Giuliani, in a line that was not in his prepared remarks, joked about criticism of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's small town experience, saying, "Maybe they cling to religion there.'' (The Pennsylvania delegate in the photo above is making a similar point.)

Palin, in her remarks, also took direct aim at Obama's "cling" comment, saying:

"In small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

Palin's speech also included the most religious notes. When speaking of her son's impending deployment to Iraq, she said, "I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.'' When describing the impact of captivity in Vietnam on John McCain, the Republican nominee, she said he has the "wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God.'' And she referred again, as she did last Friday, to the importance of a "servant's heart.'' That phrase has strong evangelical overtones, which were explored by John L. Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter. Allen writes:

"The phrase 'servant’s heart' is a popular bit of Evangelical terminology, used as a short-hand for Christian humility. A quick web search reveals thousands of churches, ministries, and bands that use some variation of 'servant’s heart' in the title; there’s even a residential cleaning service in Calgary called 'Servant’s Heart.' The term is so common, in fact, that Christian comedian Tim Hawkins has poked fun at it. 'I hate it when somebody tells me I’ve got a servant’s heart,' Hawkins says. 'It means they want me to start stacking chairs.' When Palin pledged to govern with a 'servant’s heart,' Christians, especially those with an Evangelical background, had no trouble recognizing one of their own, even without the convenience of a denominational label on Palin’s résumé.

(Photo by Getty.)

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8 comments so far...

this is all just a booty show. bring some random leggy woman with loose daugters out, show her around, and win the votes of millions of men who keep repuglican thugs in power. the faith based grandstanding matters narry at all. palin isn't a vice president, she's a repuglican style centerfold.

Posted by canales September 4, 08 02:45 AM

As an ex church member( by choice), I experienced first hand the hypocrisy christian leaders perpetuate.

They emphasize a servant's heart, that is meant for the laity. The leaders go about the business of freeing you of your time and money which largely goes into salaries and staff, etc...

Just like a business, the people who benefit the most from the shenanigans are the religious leaders.

The leaders of islamic terrorists never strap on a bomb. The leaders of the christian mainstream don't go hungry at dinner time, yet they will feed on the poor worshipers dime. They will even ace the poor out of medical insurance to give themselves raises, all done on the QT.

The whole issue of religion and government should scare the hell out of people, not put them at ease.

Posted by Dave Welch September 4, 08 06:59 AM

Jeremiah Wright only criticized America. Palin and her husband belonged to a party that wants to secede from it, founded by a guy who cursed that "damned flag" and said "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." So, please keep bringing up Wright and "the company you keep."

And I see nobody who reported Palin's teary-eyed worries about our soldiers remembered to mention she also called the Iraq fiasco "a mission from God."

Posted by Marcus September 4, 08 08:44 AM

Separation of Church and State.... what is so bloody difficult to understand?

I do not want my government or political leaders imposing their religious beliefs on me, period. That especially includes those who would eliminate a woman's right to choose an abortion. I was actually leaning toward voting for McCain. While we disagree on specific issues, I have the sense that he can be moderate / centrist / reasonable. But now having read about Gov. Palin's extremist anti-abortion views (per the Globe yesterday, even in cases of rape and incest!) there is no way I will vote for this dangerous ticket.

Posted by Jerry G September 4, 08 08:57 AM

The impact of politically correct speech from the left in America has been an extremely divisive tool to stifle the First Amendment rights of those who believe in God and have a right to speak in the public square about their beliefs. While I could not disagree more with the two comments posted above mine, I nonetheless would never want to silence them for their non-religious beliefs or their right to speak their peace.

The issue of pluralism in the United States has nothing to do with the author's assertion that there is a "growing population of non-believers." Re-writing history or ignoring it off-handedly does not alter the facts. Men of faith fled Europe to establish a land where they could escape persecution and worship freely. The Declaration of Independence clearly credited God for our inalienable rights and freedoms; the Bill of Rights placed (in first position of importance) free speech, the right to assemble, and the right to have no government establishment of religion or interference with the exercise of religion. The First Amendment guaranteed plurality from its inception.

Perhaps the author confuses pluralism with secularism. Secularism would certainly lean some in the direction of non-belief, but even the efforts to redact God-references from public squares, monuments, and school graduations is creating more problems for secularists than anticipated. God forbid anyone in public office should pray for divine assistance, let alone credit God with the prosperity this country has enjoyed for centuries. How politically insensitive of them!

A man sneezes on a bus. One woman says, "God Bless You," to him. While she may be politically incorrect (not knowing if the man believes in God or not) has she really done him any harm? I hope not.

Personally, it was refreshing to hear some mention of faith in the speeches from the GOP. It certainly was more positive than the unkind words posted by the two people who commented before me.

You be the judge.

Posted by Greg Doyle, Moreno Valley, California September 4, 08 09:23 AM

Freedom of speech, just watch what you say!!

Posted by Dave Welch September 4, 08 10:54 AM

Not trying to silence religion, just calling attention to the non spiritual acts being perpetrated by charlatans who love the limelight and other peoples money.

How quickly we try to forget witch trials and pedophiles, and believe that you can be forgiven 70 times 7 forever.

What is faith? And where are the necessary true facts that it should be supported by those that don't want faith or believe in in an afterlife.

Believers say faith is trust in god, but people trust in god(religion), because if you don't you go to hell forever. How horrible! If you do trust in god, you live forever instead of die forever.

This is a sales job, and Zig Ziglar's sales seminars and teachings prove out the sales angle of religion.

Believe you can sell and you will(using positive thinking sales techniques), believe in god and you will using the same approaches.

Government is trying to whitewash its walls and wanting to paint its coffins white!!

Posted by Dave Welch September 4, 08 11:07 AM

Except for his very first sentence about "the left" seeking to "stifle First Amendment rights," I agree with most of what Greg Doyle says above (even though I strongly suspect he and I would disagree on matters of religion itself.) I will defend anyone's right to speak up about what they believe in, regardless of whether we agree. And anyone who takes offense to someone offering a "God Bless You" in response to a sneeze is simply a hypersensitive idiot.

BUT --- there is a big difference between the notion of a citizen's free speech and that of government leaders using their positions to impose their religious belief systems on the citizenry. I stand by my earlier post (#4 above.)

When I was very young, I attended church with my parents. I vividly remember an election year (must have been 1968) when the church elders (presumably representing the views of the church, as they were inside the building) were passing out Nixon buttons to worshippers as they were leaving after the service. I found that repugnant. God wanted us to vote for Nixon? So it works both ways - Chuch and State - they exist for different reasons, they serve different sets of human needs, and they should - they MUST be kept separate.

Posted by Jerry G September 4, 08 11:24 AM

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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
E-mail mpaulson@globe.com.

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Harvey Cox, the Hollis professor of divinity at Harvard University, marks his retirement by asserting a little-used right of his professorship -- to graze a cow in Harvard Yard. Photo, by Barry Chin of the Globe staff, taken on Sept. 10, 2009 in Cambridge, Mass.