Interesting that I am blogging about religion and USA presidential politics on Christmas Eve, one of the great Christian holy days. Forgive me, Sister Theresa!
Mitt Romney's "Kennedy-esque" speech about his religion a few weeks was sad - I should say the fact that he had to do it was sad. The rise of Mike Huckabee, who wears his Christianity on his sleeve (and every other exposed surface), but whom I believe is sincere about it), prompted Mitt to attempt to assuage the fears of the Christian evangelicals in Iowa and elsewhere.
I don't care for Romney as President, but it's because of his politics, not his Mormonism. I don't fear that if he were elected, ol' Mitt would decide he needed six more wives or install a hotline to the OWG (Old White Guy) in SLC who runs the LDS (I always want to write "LSD") Church.
I did find some interesting tidbits in his speech:
"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."
The first sentence I find especially baffling. So "religion requires freedom", eh? Let's look at places like Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of which "have religion", Islam to be specific. Are those places "free"? I think not. Yet they have religion. And to be free, you have to have religion. Why? I don't think Mitt put a great deal of thought into this premise, but is merely telling the listeners what they want to hear.
Huckabee is running ads in Iowa now that tout him as a "Christian leader". Romney is trying to convince us that Mormonism is not the first cousin of Scientology. Daniel Schorr of NPR said it correctly the other day: "It's as if they are running for church deacon."
On his show a few weeks ago Bill Moyers devoted time to a discussion of religion in presidential politics. His guests were Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg School for Communication (ASC) at the University of Pennsylvania, arguably the most astute media observer around today, and Melissa Rogers of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University.
Moyers asked them, "What's missing from all this talk about religion and politics?"
Jamieson: "Relevance to government."
Rogers: "Robust defense of religious liberty."
To both, I say "Amen!"
"The five words Arkansas politicians fear most are 'Will the defendant please rise.' " -- Mike Huckabee
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