With God On Our Side
Separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is one of the keystones of American liberty. Early American colonies designated some denominations as their official state religions, and then fined, jailed, exiled or even executed those who dissented. But many of the founding fathers who were fleeing persecution in Europe had experience of prejudice and discrimination based on religion, and wanted to worship freely in their own way. So they enshrined religious freedom in the Constitution. The First Amendment, ratified in 1791, declares: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…'
In 1802, in a letter to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, President Thomas Jefferson made clear his intention to maintain a strict separation between government and religion in federal affairs. He quoted the First Amendment and then famously remarked that this establishment clause built ‘a wall of separation between church and state’.
Because of this separation, Americans enjoy a certain amount of religious freedom – to join whatever religious group they like, or none at all. Religious groups are supported by donations, not taxes; public schools are free from sectarian control. The separation underpins the notion of equality – all religions are equal in the eyes of the government. Religion seems to thrive under these conditions: the US is the second most religious country after India; more than 90% of Americans say they believe in God; and according to a June 2004 Gallup poll, 84% said religion was ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ important in their lives.
Equality undermined
But the concept of the separation of church and state is struggling to survive the onslaught of the religious right. This small but vocal and well-organised minority pays lip service to the separation but works untiringly to ensure that its conservative social agenda dominates US political debate and even law, in exchange for rallying conservative Christians to the polls. So, for example, the evangelical right has made repeated demands for schools to teach creationism and to bring back prayers, and for a ban on same-sex marriages and legal abortions (the religious right is indifferent to the argument that a woman has the right to choose, since feminism is regarded as another modern evil).
Most worryingly, president George W Bush’s goals are clearly grounded in his personal faith and the beliefs of the evangelical right, a crucial part of his core constituency – in 2000, 84% of white evangelical voters voted for him. And he has done them proud – Bush’s religious convictions seem to permeate public policies in a way that is unfavourable to those who don’t follow his church.
It’s not just the usual emotive issues of abortion or euthanasia, either. The war on Iraq has conveyed a message of exclusion to all those who don’t adhere to Bush’s Christian beliefs – one in four Americans holds a negative stereotype of Muslims, and almost one-third respond with a negative image when they hear the word ‘Muslim’, according to a new national poll commissioned by Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Grants have been distributed under Bush’s ‘faith-based initiative’ – policies that give federal money to religiously affiliated social-service charities. Although Congress has not approved them, Bush has implemented the policies through a set of executive orders, and has allowed faith-based organisations to discriminate in employment on the basis of religion.
Jobs for the boys
The religious right has been rewarded not only with policy and grants but also with the appointment of religious conservatives to the top administration jobs. Among them are some of the most powerful men in America. Attorney General John Ashcroft, a Christian fundamentalist, has hardline views against abortion and gun control, and led the impeachment of Bill Clinton. As Attorney General he’s the chief enforcer of federal law, overseeing agencies such as immigration services, and is responsible for the delicate balance between federal and state power. This often involves the enforcement of civil rights law and equality laws.
Tom DeLay, a believer in ‘the Rapture’, when, according to the faithful, the true followers of Jesus will be taken up and the rest left behind, is House majority leader. Seven leading Republican senators received a 100% scorecard from the right-wing political advocacy group the Christian Coalition. The next president is also likely to appoint one or more new judges to the ageing Supreme Court, which often has the crucial last word on contentious issues. Critics say the appointment of ultra-conservative judges will create a willingness by the courts to chip away at church-state separation.
The God gap
The fight to preserve this separation has become a crucial issue in the current presidential race. According to a November 2003 survey by the Pew Research Center, the person in the pew beside you is most likely a supporter of George W Bush; 63% of voters who regularly attend religious services are more likely to support Bush, while 62% of voters who seldom or never attend services say they will support the Democratic nominee. (There are major exceptions, such as black evangelical Protestants who attend church frequently but vote Democrat.) Bush’s political guru Karl Rove is openly seeking the vote of the 4 million evangelical Christians who didn’t vote in the 2000 election.
A further Pew survey found that the most conservative voters shared positions across denominations on issues such as abortion, school vouchers and gay marriage. Experts are touting the ‘God gap’ as the most fundamental divide in the run up to the presidential elections and have been highlighting the need for the Democrats to reach out to religious audiences, and for both parties to go for the ‘swing faithful’.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry – a Catholic – has already pledged to keep his faith and his politics separate. Unlike John F Kennedy, who had to convince Protestants that his policies in the White House would not be dictated by the Vatican, Kerry has been criticised by heavyweights in his own church and the conservative media for not toeing the Pope's line, instead supporting abortion rights, civil marriages and stem cell research. Some Catholic bishops have even said they would deny him communion.
According to the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life, while the majority of Americans are happy to see their leaders profess some kind of faith, they are sharply divided over whether religious groups should become directly involved in politics. The shrewdness of the religious right – both the evangelists and the traditional Roman Catholics – is that it has exploited the morality of a fervently Christian society and is shaping it to its own partisan ends.
