Religion in Washington

These last weeks we have focused primarily on the inauguration and the secular and sacred symbolism therein. From Rev. Rick Warren’s invocation to Lincoln’s bible, the Christian symbols and components of the inauguration were clear and present. We know that the United States is a nation founded on Christian ideals, but how can we situate these images in an ever diversifying population? There is no doubt that religion plays a significant role in America today and is therefore a driving political influence, but what role does religion have in Government? No doubt many Christian Americans were thrilled to hear Rev. Rick Warren proclaim Jesus Christ his personal Lord and Savior during his invocation. At the same time no doubt many non-Christians were squirming in their seats. Herein lays the inherent problem with religion in government. There are too many beliefs, too many faiths, and too many ideals to make everyone happy all the time. The First Amendment to the Constitution gives us the idea of separation of church and state by mandating that no law can be passed to respect an established religion nor to prohibit the free exercise of religion. The Constitution never specifies the role religion could or could not play in Washington beyond that.

I personally feel that the significance of the Christian presence at the inauguration comes directly from President Obama’s personal Christian beliefs. Every President of the United States so far has been Christian so there is a tradition of swearing on a Bible. Because of the overwhelming political influence held by Christian voters across the nation, it is unlikely that a non-Christian will be elected any time soon. When it does happen however, it only seems appropriate that religious symbols relevant and sacred to that President will used.

Many moderate Americans may not even have noticed the Christian presence at the inauguration, or at least glazed right over it. As Colleen McDannell describes in Material Christianity, there is a scrambling of the sacred and the profane. Traditionally sacred objects are becoming utilitarian. The Bible, a sacred Christian text, has become the book people swear on. From witnesses in a court room to the president of the United States, when you swear something you do it on a bible. Why? Well, because that is what they always do in the movies. As with any tradition, sacred or secular, the longer its history, the more likely people are to forget why it is done at all.

The voting populace is also a source of religious strife. With radical non-believers screaming “God is a lie!” and radical Christians screaming “Convert the heathens!” we find ourselves in a deadlock with little room for progress. Each side is convinced that it is right and that its way of knowing is the only way. Before his election, Barack Obama spoke about the role of religion in America as well as expressing a need for faiths to coexist and even work together. Below is this clip –I apologize for the poor quality.

In this short piece, I feel like President Obama very accurately describes the role that religion must play in politics. There is no doubt that religion shapes political views, but when creating policy we must, as Obama says, persuade based on a common reality. We must accept that different people hold different beliefs and different ideals, but we are fundamentally all human first. In this way we can come together to establish an effective government.