Since President Bush took office, religion has
been the litmus test to discern a presidential candidate’s
electability. And in the current pool of 2008 presidential hopefuls,
this litmus test has produced a star-studded cast of Democratic
prophets, extolling their religiosity as well as Republican
religious bigots, promulgating their politics. The one-time
separation between church and state has been hijacked by both
political parties.
John McCain is our latest, but certainly not
our last presidential hopeful to tell the country that a government’s
embrace and execution of Christian principles is the quintessential
marker that the right person is holding the highest office the
land.
“I think the number one issue people should
make in the selection of the president of the United States
is, ‘Will this person carry on in the Judeo-Christian
principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest
experiment in the history of mankind?’ I just have to
say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily
on Christian principles, ... personally I prefer someone who
I know has a solid grounding in my faith,” McCain said
in a interview posted on the web site Beliefnet.com.
A solid grounding in McCain’s faith of
Judeo-Christian principles would not only run aground of America’s
solid tradition of religious pluralism, but it also runs counter
to upholding the civil liberties of marginalized populations
in this country - like lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
citizens, who are continually battered by the way religion is
used by social conservatives.
I assume it was McCain’s Judeo-Christian
principles that allowed him to say, in an interview with Reuters
in December, 1999, that he would be “comfortable with
a homosexual as president of the United States.” However,
these same principle would not support a federal move toward
same-sex marriage rights, should this homosexual president want
to legally consecrate his or her partnership.
Last month, William Sleaster, a Concord, N.H.
high school student, asked McCain, “Do you support civil
unions or gay marriage?” A testy exchange ensued.
“I do not,” McCain answered. “I
think that they impinge on the status and the sanctity of marriage
between a man and a woman. I understand the controversy that
continues to swirl around this issue,” McCain said. “That
debate needs to be continued. Discrimination in any form is
unacceptable in America today.”
Confused by McCain’s response, Sleaster
said, “I came here looking to see a leader. I don’t.”
Bloggers went wild commenting on the heated exchange
between McCain and Sleaster. One wrote, “To those …
who continue to push their ‘theology’ on the rest
of us, I would like to point out a couple of things. …
The Constitution strictly prohibits the government from promoting
religion. The only arguments against gay marriage are religious.
The government needs to live up to the obligations given by
the Founders. Stay out of my religious and personal affairs.
Please tell me how gay marriage is any more threatening to the
institution than a 50 percent failure rate in straight marriages.”
It is these same Judeo-Christian principles that
guided McCain to vote no, back in January, on extending the
definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation. And
in support of the anti-gay military policy “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell,” McCain wrote in an April 16 letter
to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, “The Department
of Defense doesn't ask questions exploring the sexual orientation
of prospective service members, and individuals are required
to keep their homosexuality to themselves. However, the legislation
unambiguously maintains that open homosexuality within the military
services presents an intolerable risk to morale, cohesion, and
disciple. I believe polarization of personnel and breakdown
of unit effectiveness is too high a price to pay for well-intentioned
but misguided efforts to elevate the interests of a minority
of homosexual service members above those in their units.”
But it is obvious McCain has not checked out
the 4-1-1 on him.
For example, according to the February, 2007,
USA Today Gallup Poll, forty-two percent of Americans say they
would not vote for a 72-year- old candidate. That is about the
same willingness found for a hypothetical homosexual candidate.
And a February, 2007, survey by the Pew Research Center for
the People and the Press speculated that McCain's age will be
a potential liability for him in the campaign. The February,
2007, survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press also found that 60 percent say they would not likely vote
for a candidate who is “Christian,” would not vote
for McCain because he is "too close to Bush" or that
he "gives in to the political right."
As one who gives in to the political right, McCain
uncritically repeats what is an article of faith among many
of social conservatives – that the constitution established
the United States as a Christian nation.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion,
not freedom from religion. While the separation between church
and state prohibits the establishment of a state religion, it
does not mean that the public sphere in American life should
be religion-free. But it also does not mean that religion shapes
the entire American landscape.
American democracy suffers when people have to
be closeted about their faith because it fosters a climate of
religious intolerance. However, to suggest, as McCain does,
that an important qualification to lead this country is to be
a practicing Christian, is an affront to us all.
McCain as a religious person in public life would
be just as scary as Bush, not only because of the sordid baggage
of religious bigotry he would bring. McCain’s sentiment
is contrary to the American ideal of the United States as a
democratic society without a religious test for public office.
BlackCommentator.com columnist,
the Rev. Irene Monroe is a religion columnist, theologian, and
public speaker. She is a Ford Fellow and doctoral candidate
at Harvard Divinity School. As an African American feminist
theologian, she speaks for a sector of society that is frequently
invisible. Her website is www.irenemonroe.com.
Click
here to contact the Rev. Monroe.