America was not founded as a Christian nation -- precisely because the founders were informed by a Jewish and Christian understanding of human nature. Since humans are autonomous moral beings created in Gods image, freedom of conscience is essential to dignity. At least where the federal government was concerned, the founders asserted that citizens should be subject to God and their conscience, not the state. America was designed to be a nation where all faiths are welcomed, not one where one faith is favored. Historically, this disestablishment of religion has served the Christian faith well, preserving it from being corrupted and tainted by political power. In combination, the various failings of the religious right -- of tone, strategy, theology, and simply human sympathy -- abetted a social backlash that goes beyond politics. By the 1990s, argues Robert Putnam, the politicization of religion by the religious right was causing many young people to turn against religion itself. The religious right, it turns out, was not good for religion. The religious right began as a defensive reaction to the aggressions of the modern world. It ended by squandering much of its promise because it was too reactive. Often it responded to anger with anger. It responded to the liberal gospel by downplaying the very idea of social justice, thus narrowing the range of evangelical concern. The result was often a partial agenda, even a partisan one. In an unexpected way, this reactive model of social engagement allowed the left to continue setting the social and political agenda. The next phase of Christian social engagement will need to move beyond reaction, instead applying first principles to a broad range of public concerns. (exerpts from article below)
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 11:32:38 +0000
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