The Democrats and God

In an Op-Ed in today's New York Times Jim Wallis admonishes the Democrats for avoiding religion, morality and god. "Allowing the right to decide what is a religious issue would be both a moral and political tragedy." It was not surprising to read that "people who attend church more than once a week vote Republican 63 percent to 37 percent; people who seldom or never attend vote Democratic by 62 percent to 38 percent." But talking about religion and morality is not just a strategic move, it's the right move. Democrats are afraid to talk about religion. "They stumble over themselves to assure voters that while they may be people of faith, they won't allow their religious beliefs to affect their political views. For too many Democrats, faith is private and has no implications for political life. But what kind of faith is that? Where would America be if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had kept his faith to himself?" Wallis reminds us that faith is not just about abortion, the Ten Commandments, gay marriage, and school prayer. "How a candidate deals with poverty is a religious issue, and the Bush administration's failure to support poor working families should be named as a religious failure. Neglect of the environment is a religious issue. Fighting pre-emptive and unilateral wars based on false claims is a religious issue (a fact not changed by the capture of Saddam Hussein)." And, he continues, "Rather than suggesting that we not talk about 'God,' Democrats should be arguing -- on moral and even religious grounds -- that all Americans should have economic security, health care and educational opportunity, and that true faith results in a compassionate concern for those no the margins." Amen! If Bush is such a good christian, he should prove it.