U.S. presidential campaigns have always been rough affairs. A lot is at stake. Personal attacks and stretching facts are par for the course. But there must be limits.
Gov. Bill Clinton and Sen. Al Gore have stayed “in bounds” when it comes to keeping religion separate from governmental affairs. They have been vocal in their opposition to prayer in public schools and the use of tax dollars to fund religious education. In addition, although Clinton and Gore held deep religious convictions, they have kept these personal beliefs out of their campaign.
It is reassuring to have Clinton say, “Fifteen year ago, when I taught constitutional law at the University of Arkansas, I emphasized the centrality of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom to political democracy and to personal liberty. I have upheld those precepts throughout my career in public service and certainly would uphold and respect them as president.”
Most American Jews would agree about the importance of keeping religious worship free from government interference or political manipulation. There can be no justification for fomenting religious divisiveness among Americans. Unfortunately, this year the Republicans are flirting with religious division.
On the weekend after the Republican convention, President Bush addressed an evangelical conference where he listened to various speakers accuse the Democrats of promoting homosexuality and even witchcraft.
Rather than express even some mild disagreement with such bizarre charges, the president took the occasion to criticize the Democratic party platform for failing to mention the word “God.”
The clear implication of the president’s remarks was that Republicans who end speeches with “God bless you” and “God bless America” truly believe in God, while Democrats using the same rhetoric are really non-believers.
This juxtaposition of God-fearing Republicans versus godless Democrats would not be worth remarking upon if it were an isolated event. Far from being unusual, however, it fit firmly into the context of the Republican convention.
The Republicans organized their convention so that when Pat Buchanan declared that “there is a religious war going on in our country,” first lady Barbara Bush and Buchanan’s wife sat next to each other clapping enthusiastically.
So, too, when Pat Robertson and Dan Quayle urged government support of public school prayer and private religious school choice. The inevitable conclusion to be drawn by the American people was that the president and his family approved of these divisive views.
The president dealt in exactly the same way with the Republican platform. Although his nomination was assured and his representatives were in complete control of all convention activities, he interfered not at all when the platform became the playground of the religious right.
Thus, a proposed reference to the nation’s “rich religious pluralism” was found unacceptable to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition colleagues. Instead, the platform celebrates “our country’s Judeo-Christian heritage,” ignoring the many holdings of the U.S. Supreme Court that government should not support any religion or all religions, and should certainly not express preference for any religious tradition.
The same Christian Coalition mentality produced platform planks favoring public school prayer and the use of tax dollars for religious education; and these positions were explicitly adopted by President Bush in his convention speech.
The platform also opposes federal funding for “obscenity and blasphemy masquerading as art.” Martin Mawyer, head of the Christian Action Network, remarked, “If I didn’t know any better, I would assume the platform was written by the religious right.”
It is time to drop the pretense. Our founders believed that government had no legitimate role in the religious life of Americans. The nation was founded on the bedrock of religious tolerance. The Christian Coalition, Pat Buchanan and Pat Robertson obviously believe differently.
If President Bush agrees with them, he should be candid with the American people. If he disagrees, he should say so. Unless he does, it will be fair for the American people to conclude that he shares their views.
The issues of trust continues to be raised by the Republican campaign. But if George Bush remains silent about the use of religious belief to divide the American people, it will be difficult to trust him to carry out his presidential obligation to defend First Amendment values.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
