Religion Is Not an Issue in Politics

The responses have generally had little, if anything, to do with Lieberman’s ability to govern. He has unquestionable credentials to serve as vice president or even president of the United States. No one has challenged that. Instead, the questions swirl around his religion.

Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew. It has been acknowledged that there will be some people who will vote for or against the Gore-Lieberman ticket because of that.

Certainly, it would be a concern if a person had a religious belief that would adversely affect his or her ability to govern, but that is not an issue here. The one question that has arisen is whether Lieberman would work on the Sabbath; but Judaism permits a person to “act to preserve human life or on behalf of the needs of the community.” Clearly that would allow him to fulfill his governing duties. Any other questions regarding Lieberman’s religious beliefs vis-a-vis his qualifications should appropriately be taken to the senator rather than be a topic for speculation by those who do not share his faith or know what is in his heart.

Years ago there were two folks in my church who were political opposites. One was way “left” and the other way “right.” They would not have found common ground on any single major political issue. They didn’t argue with one another in church, but there were more than a few barbs that flew back and forth.

I was surprised, therefore, when one asked the other for help on a project. She needed his carpentry skills to make a brochure stand so she could more easily espouse her causes at political events. He went to work and produced a beautiful stand that not only did the job but was far better than what she requested. When it was done I said to him, “You don’t agree with anything she says. Why did you do that for her?” He laughed and said, “Well, she may be crazy, but she’s still part of the [church] family.”

That is a good standard for us to apply in regard to candidates who practice a religion different from ours. We may not agree with all they believe. We may even think they are crazy for believing what they do. Nevertheless, we are all part of the great American family. Our nation was founded on principles of inclusion and tolerance. If we are responsible citizens, we demonstrate respect for all, not just for those who agree with us on matters of faith. Our vote is rightfully based on our considered judgment of the ability of the person to govern well, not how he or she prays.

Likewise, we do not identify God with one side or the other in politics and then use our religion as a weapon to beat up one another. Just as it is inappropriate for us to base our vote on a person’s faith, it is also inappropriate for us to judge a person’s religious legitimacy based on politics. Unfortunately, our political beliefs have sometimes become the litmus test for religious soundness. Some are all too willing to declare a person “good” in a religious sense based on a political stand.

Surely God is bigger than any of our political, social or even religious differences, and it must pain God that we use religion to attack one another.

On Faith is a forum for Orange County clergy and others to offer their views on religious topics of general interest. Submissions, which will be published at the discretion of The Times and are subject to editing, should be delivered to Orange County religion page editor Deanne Brandon.