Scattered Work

The Importance of Being at the Inauguration

Steve Benen:

Nevertheless, even if it is symbolism, the Warren choice strikes me as Obama’s biggest mistake since the election. He’s elevating a conservative religious leader to new heights, giving him stature and credibility, and making his far-right message that much more meaningful when he challenges Obama administration policies in the future.

I’ve heard a lot of liberals make this argument against having Rick Warren deliver the invocation at Obama’s inauguration, but I just don’t buy it. Delivering this invocation is going to give him more credibility than authoring one of the most popular non-fiction books currently in print? Than hosting a high-profile election debate at his church? Than being on all those “most influential leaders” lists published by Time, Newsweek, et al? And of course, you could always make this argument from the other side: by having Warren involved in the innauguration, Obama will carry more influence with evangelicals because it shows he respects their leaders, even though he may disagree with them.

One other factor that is not getting nearly as much attention as it should is that there will be another religious leader at the inauguration (performing the benediction): Rev Dr Joseph Lowery. You can read more about him here, but suffice it to say that he’s no homophobe.

Tags: Barack Obama, evangelicals, religion, Rick Warren

Religious Party

During the election, Obama worked hard to win religious (even evangelical) voters over to the Democratic ticket, and made significant strides, especially among younger evangelicals. Not surprisingly, Obama did this largely by emphasizing his personal relationship with faith, rather than softening his positions on major social issues, such as abortion. As a result, his gains among this demographic came largely from those evangelicals who were already social moderates. Still, the gains were significant, despite controversies swirling around his church and rumors that he is a “secret Muslim.”

Now I hear (via Democracy in America) that some influential conservative commentators have launched a new blog called Secular Right. This trend, it seems to me, is pretty important. To the extent that we can decouple a single political party from its monopoly on the devout Christian vote, we can have a richer discussion of the relationship between faith and public policy in America. For one thing, it opens up space for organizations such as this.

Tags: Barack Obama, election, environment, evangelicals, religion