Friday, March 21, 2008

Dems and Religion

Kevin Drum comments on the trouble Hillary and Obama have gotten in recently because of their religious affiliations. Obama's trouble is well known. Hillary is being lambasted by Barbara Ehrenreich on Huffington Post for her participation in a Bible study group in Washington that apparently trends right. He says:
If this is what being a sincerely committed Christian gets you in the Democratic Party, why should we bother? Are the benefits really worth the costs? There must be more than a few Democrats surveying the rubble of the past week and thinking that maybe we'd be better off leaving the God talk to the Republicans and keeping our own faith private.
I am not naive enough to think that Hillary and Obama weren't calculating the cost-benefit ratio of their religious affiliations; it's part of a politician's DNA. But if this had been all that mattered to them they would have distanced themselves from these potentially unsavory situations long ago.

It could just be that Hillary attended her Bible Study and Obama attended his church for spiritual sustenance. Wouldn't that be something.

1 comment:

Loveparent said...

I would like to believe that Hillary attended The Family because they reached out to her at a time she needed a spiritual home when she was having a difficult time in her life.

I would also like to believe that she stayed in The Family because she wanted to understand what they believe since they are a powerful and elite group of politicians who set U.S. and world policy. I suspect that, like Barak, she isn't in 100% agreement with the preaching and doctrine of The Family's religious leaders.

I believe the U.S. electorate has a right to know and to assess how a person's religious affiliations and beliefs (or lack thereof) might influence their future policy and government decisions. This part of their lives can not help but to inform their decision-making process.

Barak has spoken about his faith and his pastor. It looks like it soon will be Hillary's turn.

Do I find it disturbing she is a member of "The Family"? Yes, I do! But I want to hear her tell me how she became a member, why she continues to belong, and how it informs her political decision-making process.

How many of us believe 100% in what our denomination, our congregation, or our pastor believes, does, or says?

All the political commentators and reporters--as well as each voter--need to take a hard look in the mirror before condemning Barak or Hillary because of their religious associations, practices, and clergy with whom they worship! Most of us fall right in the same category--we each have our own unique spiritual path!