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Religion in Politics
The Democratic Party platform, apparently for the first time (in recent history, anyway), failed to incorporate mention of God. It also dropped 2008 language recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital (honestly, it surprises me that it was in there at all 4 years ago, given the current admin's relationship with Israel, position on a 2-state solution and settlement building in East Jerusalem, maintaining our embassy in Tel Aviv, etc).
Discussion points: Are democrats (the Obama admin specifically, according to the HuffPo article) 'unfriendly to religion'? Or is this perhaps more of an attempt to not disenfranchise non-Christian Americans? To pull away from the rhetoric about the US being founded on 'Christian ideals,' and all that jazz?
Does religion have any place in the platforms of the 2 major US political parties? Or is the emphasis on religion of our elected officials detrimental to the very freedom of religion/separation of church and state ideals we seek to defend?
Other countries of the 'west' have become far more secular. Belgium has an atheist (and gay!) prime minister- will the US have an openly atheist president in the foreseeable future?
When does the religiousness go too far? Has it already, with the absurdity of the Christian/Muslim debate for Obama, the Shariah law hysteria in certain states, the reservations about Romney's Mormonism?
Discuss.
EDIT: Whoops. Nevermind.
I'm rather disappointed, Dems. Way to succumb to pressure on that one.
Re: Religion in Politics
I'm actually a little relieved they took God out of the platform. I've been agnostic/atheist for most of my life. If my representatives are truly going to represent me, then they should be politicians and not preachers.
Besides, if we have separation of church and state, then why do our political parties need God in their platforms?
God given talents and abilities vs talents and abilities.
THere is a separate section on faith.
I find the Jeruselem omission more troubleing, especially with Obama's cool relationship with Israel.
I don't think the Democrats are particularly unfriendly to religion. From what I can tell, they simply don't want any one religious view to dominate the party, to the point where the country is edging toward a theocracy. I don't think that refusing to be a theocracy = unfriendly to religion.
Whatever I think of the Republican party, I do think it is wise for them to start to distance themselves from faith-based platforms, because they are losing support from nonchristians in droves. I've wondered if they were going to be replaced by the Libertarian party sooner than predicted, what with the road they've been going down. If they're taking mention of god out of it, then it looks like they're not going down without a fight. Good for them, I guess.
The Jerusalem issue... this whole thing is just a load of shenanigans. Considering that the overall tide of the country's sentiment has turned toward less foreign involvement in the wake of the neverending Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, not running on more overseas meddling as a platform is very wise.
http://mediamatters.org/video/2011/08/04/israeli-defense-minister-tells-fox-i-can-hardly/181257
BTW, Hi.
In all fairness, Ehud Barak is hardly representative of the right-wing Likudnik fear mongering that has come to dominate the current Israeli administration. Which is unfortunate- I'd like to see Barak bring a little more sense back to the table.
Edit: though I don't feel the Jerusalem platform thing is remotely troubling, it's nothing but a political attempt to outmaneuver any Palestinian claims on the city. I like that the Obama admin is comfortable calling them on that, especially given the issues with construction in E. Jerusalem in the last few years.
I think the Jerusalem issue is not necessarily a religious issue for the US. I'm sure some Americans believe that it is, but really, it's a diplomacy/national security/foreign relations issue. The Obama Administration has apparently decided that removing that plank from the platform will better assist its goals in achieving a solution there. I've never felt educated enough to take a strong position on what *should* happen, but I don't think the U.S. should act exclusively on religious grounds.
I don't really believe that religion has a place in a party platform. I have a lot of respect for the Democratic Party for taking out a reference to God. I believe religion carries too much weight right now in American politics. So many Americans seem to forget that if religion is wound up in politics, you'll soon have politicians making religious decisions for you. And you may not agree with them.
I can understand asking about a candidate's religious background in order to determine how that might bear on his or her decision-making process. It's perfectly legitimate to want to know if the Pope or a particular church authority will carry more weight than the wants or needs of the American public. It's also legitimate to want to know if the candidate's beliefs include any fundamental tenets that could significantly influence decisions. We should know, for example, if a presidential candidate is a conscientious objector - and has such strong religious beliefs against violence that s/he would be unable to go to war to defend the country. But I think it's unfortunate that so many might choose not to vote for a candidate because of ignorance and untruths about a particular faith.
I agree with PPs that it's unlikely we'll see an atheist president in the near future. I'm not aware of any currently elected officials who are openly atheist. But I'm in Arizona, so I'd probably be the last to know. Either way, I assume that when you go to your Political Candidates 101 class, the first thing they tell you is to pick a good church, preferably one that can help with fundraising. /jaded