Faith & the Democratic party

By Michael Carr

Should the democratic candidates speak about their faith? Republicans regularly do so, sometimes to the point of exploitation. For democrats, the record is mixed. Previous candidates such as Howard Dean politely declined to talk about their religious beliefs. In 2004, John Kerry tried to do a balancing act by speaking about his faith just enough to appease both religious voters and secularists. Unfortunately, George W. Bush's eagerness to discuss his own religious values drowned out Kerry's more constrained discussion.

What's clear is that voters who attended church at least once a week voted for George W. Bush by a much larger margin than John Kerry. What's interesting though is that the policy stances of churchgoers mirrored John Kerry's more than Bush's. So why did they vote for Bush instead of Kerry? Because they wanted the candidate's beliefs to be sincere and heartfelt and relating policy stances to faith did just that.

Making the link between candidates faith and policy positions should be less challenging for Democrats than Republicans. Protecting the environment, looking after the less fortunate, practicing tolerance and fairness are all common religious values. Legislation which sets tougher environmental standards, puts more money into Medicaid & Medicare, provides equal protection to gays, and gives everyone access to the court system is the political version of those religious values. They are also the common values of the Democratic party.

The point being is that the Democratic party leaves a lot of votes to be had by being mum about religion and faith. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King were arguably the three most successful progressives in the last half of the 20th century. They also spoke of their own faith more than any other progressives of their time. True, as the bible eloquently states, faith without works is dead. But faith that goes unsaid will likely see its works go undone.