Senate candidate Sharron Angle (who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada) recently gave an interview to David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network in which she described her campaign for public office as a “calling.” She also made similar comments to Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition saying that she believes “that God has been in this from the beginning, and because of that, when He has a plan and a purpose for your life and you fit into that, what He calls you to He’s always equipped you for.”
Today Interfaith Alliance issued a statement in response Angle’s comments, calling on all politicians to stop using their religion to appeal to voters, a practice that weakens both religion and politics. Of course, candidates for public office are free to talk about how their faith informs their thinking. But candidates should always remember that they represent people of diverse beliefs, and the policies they create need to be based on fidelity, not to their religious scriptures, but to the Constitution.
See below for the full text of Interfaith Alliance’s statement:
Sharron Angle’s recent comments on her race against Sen. Harry Reid being ‘a calling,’ and that she considers herself a ‘faith-based politician’ should be deeply troubling to anyone who cherishes religious freedom. If elected to represent the people of Nevada in the United States Senate, Ms. Angle will do so as a representative of the people of her state, not of her church. My guess is that God will be just fine without playing a role in either candidate’s campaign.
Candidates for public office are free to talk about how their faith informs their thinking, but should not imply that policy position will be based on scripture rather than the Constitution. It has been my experience that when candidates intentionally insert faith into politics, the purpose is rarely to protect religion; rather it is done to enhance a political position.
Where does Interfaith Alliance stand on the faith-based partnership? What are Interfaith Alliance’s legislative priorities for the 111th congress? These questions and others are answered on video by Interfaith Alliance President Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy. We’ll be adding additional segments in the weeks and months ahead, so leave any comments you have, and if you have suggestions for topics you’d like to see covered, you can submit them using the link below!
How will the new president and congress impact the focus of Interfaith Alliance?
How will you go about protecting faith and freedom in the age of Obama?
Does President Obama’s faith-based partnership include enough safeguards?
What are Interfaith Alliance’s legislative priorities in the 111th Congress?
Did you see this ad in the “A” section of today’s New York Times? After reading it, I am pleased to see the newfound commitment of some of my friends on the right to fight against anti-religious bigotry and violence against houses of worship. These are principles that have been at the core of the Interfaith Alliance’s mission since its founding.
While I wholeheartedly disagree with the position of the LDS church on proposition 8, I agree with the signers of the ad that they have every right to their opinion. I do wonder if the signers will be willing to spend tens-of-thousands of dollars along with their prestige the next time a primarily gay congregation’s legitimacy is called in to question, or a mosque is targeted for harassment.
I invite the ad’s signers to prove me wrong. I invite them to encourage houses of worship across the country to engage in dialogue across the political spectrum. Not to proselytize, but to build understanding. Not to change theology, but to understand each other’s theological perspective.
This year’s “See You at the Pole” was flagged as more politically charged than usual. See You At the Pole is a national event in which school children gather at the flag pole before school to pray – for some about politics, and others, less homework. [Christian Post]
Please keep your seats and tray tables in their full upright and locked position as we prepare for religion and politics in today’s news – from Interfaith Alliance.
As the election nears, Roman Catholic Bishops try to raise awareness of church’s opposition to abortion. Has anyone not gotten the memo? [Chicago Tribune]
Remember the endorsement courtship and nasty split between pastors and politicians during the primaries? Now, the Religious Right’s Alliance Defense Fund is organizing more pastors to endorse more politicians from the pulpit this Sunday!
America’s pulpits are for prayer, not partisan politics. Let’s keep our pulpits free from the political machinery we’ve already seen devastate clergy and sidetrack the campaigns in this election.
Last week, we wrote to Interfaith Alliance’s members about the Alliance Defense Fund’s (ADF) manipulative “Pulpit Initiative,” a project encouraging Christian pastors to preach a sermon on September 28th – this Sunday – “intended to challenge the Internal Revenue Code’s restrictions by specifically opposing candidates for office that do not align themselves and their positions with the Scriptural truth,” according to the ADF’s website.
Four in 10 Americans believe that religious leaders should be permitted to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their organization’s tax-exempt status, a new survey by the First Amendment Center shows. [...] The finding was based on a new question in the Washington-based center’s annual “State of the First Amendment” national survey. When asked to name specific rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, just 15% mentioned religion, the lowest percentage to recall that topic since 2000.
While the study shows most American’s don’t want clergy campaigning for their favorite political candidate, it also illustrates a growing disconnect in our thoughts about religion and the Constitution. What the ADF and the pastors who plan to participate don’t understand is that the IRS Code protects houses of worship from being turned into a political convention hall. Without that Code, money put into the collection plate on Sunday could be used to line politicians’ coffers on Monday, leaving our religious freedom in ruins.
To fight back against the ADF and encourage religious leaders around the country to speak about the issues of the day, not the candidates, Interfaith Alliance has launched its Clergy Pledge nationwide. We now have signatures from more than 175 clergy around the country who have taken action, vowing to keep partisanship out of houses of worship and to protect both religious freedom and the First Amendment.
Thirty percent of Americans believe Barack Obama may be Muslim. Statistics on the percentage of people who believe our election is taking place in reality are unavailable. [New York Times]
The Chicago Tribune has an excellent article about how the Muslim-American community is taking stock of their faith today, 9-11-08.
That negative image of Islam—reflected in the Internet rumors casting doubt on the Christian faith of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as well as his denials of being a Muslim—bores into the psyche of many Muslim immigrants, said Marei, 53, a Palestinian who moved to Chicago in 1979.
“It is our duty to show that we are good neighbors,” said Marei, a volunteer leader for Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy in his Albany Park neighborhood, where many Arab immigrants have moved near the stately Muslim Community Center on Elston Avenue. “All we hear about Islam—and we are listening with tears in our eyes—is Islam and terrorism. We must control our own image.”
The Interfaith Alliance is committed to helping the Muslim-American community become more fully integrated into American society. Too often our Muslim brethren feel ostracized because other Americans unreasonably label all Muslims as terrorists. And too often, Muslims are singled out because of their religion for hate crimes. Forefront on our legislative agenda is passing stronger federal hate crimes legislation so that all Americans can live free of the fear of hate-motivated violence.
On this date in 2001, the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado feared that a mosque in the Denver area would be targeted for a reprisal. So a diverse group of people of faith went to the mosque and formed a human chain to show support for their Muslim neighbors. Seven years later, our country still yearns for more acts of solidarity like that.
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