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Religion lobby pushes legislation, not reconciliation
By David Waters
After a brief holiday recess, the Religion Lobby is gearing up to support or oppose health insurance reform legislation -- depending on each side's particular understanding of God's will and President Obama's intentions. All groups are preaching to their respective choirs, though, so it seems doubtful that their faith-based views will change many Democratic or Republican minds on Capitol Hill. Could faith-based groups play a more productive role in the partisan wars?
Not so far.
Groups on the Religious Left, including mainline Protestant and Jewish denominations, which view health insurance reform as "health care justice," are writing letters to President Obama and Congress, making calls to key legislators and bringing hundreds of high school students to Washington to visit Capitol Hill and advocate for health care reform.
Groups on the Religious Right, including major evangelical groups that see "ObamaCare" as a "radical government takeover of our health care," are also writing letters, making calls and sending emissaries young and old to Washington to support Republican efforts to revise or revile current health reform bills in the House and Senate.
Meanwhile, Catholic bishops (Religious Independents?), who find themselves at home on both sides of the health reform divide, have sent Congress a letter pushing for reform that covers everyone, including immigrants, but that also protects unborn life and religious objections. "Although political contexts have changed, the moral and policy failure that leaves tens of millions of our sisters and brothers without access to health care still remains,' bishops wrote. "We must all continue to work towards a solution that protects everyone's lives and respects their dignity."
(One collection of Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups on the Religious Left are pushing for reform "that does not create new abortion coverage restrictions.")
In many ways, the key political leaders in the health reform divide already reflect their own faith-based backgrounds: President Obama was a longtime member of the very liberal United Church of Christ; Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is a Baptist; both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner are Catholics.
Or do key religious leaders merely represent their own political worldviews?
In either case, I wonder if the Religion Lobby, despite its good and faithful intentions, is only making Washington's hyperpartisan environment even more partisan by adding a layer or moral justification to each side's case.
Shouldn't our religious leaders -- conservative and liberal -- be showing our political leaders ways to work together to solve our common problems rather than just taking sides in the partisan wars. Shouldn't they be lobbying for reconciliation rather than legislation? If our faith leaders can't work together, why should we expect our political leaders to do so?
David Waters
| January 28, 2010; 10:42 AM ET | Category: Today's Topic Save & Share:
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Posted by: Chops2 | January 28, 2010 4:06 PM
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David Waters,
for the Catholic Bishops, Mother Church is always more important than Mother Land (USA).
Don't expect them to compromise on abortion, on health care for the immigrants that came here by breaking the laws ( they need them to fill the pews), on barrier contraception ( they want married catholic women to have as many children as possible because they will growup catholics.
Posted by: ThishowIseeit | January 28, 2010 4:12 PM
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No surprise here. Radical extremist "Christian" fundamentalist are in lock step with radical extremist right-wingers.
They share the "Christian / American" priorities of war, torture, war profiteering, gun running, big corporations buying elections, torture, pollution, theocracy and Rovian wedge issues of racial, religious and political intolerance.
Heath-care? What would have the original Jesus really said before he was hijacked by these Huckabees?
Posted by: coloradodog | January 29, 2010 7:08 PM
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Well, it is not just a question of liberal religions (in favor of health care for everyone) versus conservative religions (in favor of preserving the big business opportunities managed care companies and their stockholders are enjoying at the expense of the common man.)
According to those studying spiritual and faith development, the larger number of people one can include within their circle of concern, the more "spiritually mature" the person is.
The "liberal" churches are not supporting health reform because they lean Democratic, but rather because their form of theology leads them to include concern for the masses, concern for those outside their own group, as well as those within it. This can be called a "worldcentric" worldview.
The "conservative" churches conversely lean toward supporting a much more narrow group - their own - at the expense of the masses. Their worldview is "ethnocentric" because their stage of spirituality holds them at the "tribal" level. The fact that Republicans lean the same way is an interesting correlation. It certainly leaves food for thought as to which political party attracts more spiritually mature people.
Margaret Placentra Johnston
www.exploring-spiritual-development.com
Posted by: mmppjj | January 29, 2010 8:56 PM
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The arrogance of a person or a group to think they know what god would want is breathtaking.
Leave decisions to humans who have to live in the real world with real world consequences for those who die because they do not have health care.
Who would Jesus tax? Ridiculous question.