Schism Grows Between Religious Right and Left

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Schism Grows Between Religious Right and Left

By William Fisher, Inter Press News Agency, January 10, 2006

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (IPS) - The news stories chosen as the Top 10 of 2005 by members of the "righteous-wing" of the Republican Party offer significant insight into what U.S. religious conservatives consider most important.

The nominations came from readers of CitizenLink, a web page of Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. Dobson's organisation has become one of the most influential conservative voices in shaping a wide range of U.S. policies. Dobson is known to be close to the George W. Bush White House, particularly to the president's chief political advisor, Karl Rove.

Close to a third of respondents nominated the Terri Schiavo case as their number one choice. Editors of the website explained the story this way:

"The disabled Florida woman, whose tragic story moved and motivated pro-lifers nationwide, passed away in March after 14 days without food and water -- a death sentence imposed by court order."

"Even Congress, which worked late into the night to pass unprecedented legislation that could have saved Schiavo, was unable in the end to blunt the efforts of her estranged husband -- who battled in court for years to have his wife's nutrition and hydration suspended, even though she was not brain dead, only disabled."

Trailing by only a few percentage points was what the website called the "Supreme Court Shakeup" created by the announced retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in July, and the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist in September.

"In their place, President Bush nominated two judges deemed by family advocates to be precisely the kind of 'strict constructionists' the court desperately needs: new Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justice nominee Samuel Alito (tapped after Bush's original choice, White House counsel Harriet Miers, withdrew her nomination in the wake of criticism from many pro-family groups.)"

The third top choice was "The battle for marriage" -- i.e., campaigns to prevent gay couples from legally tying the knot.

"On the upside," the group said, "voters in Kansas and Texas came out in record numbers to overwhelmingly approve marriage amendments in their state -- and four other states passed measures to put such amendments before voters in 2006."

"In California, meanwhile, the state legislature passed a bill to allow same-sex marriages, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promptly vetoed it. On the downside, Connecticut passed a civil-unions law and a federal district court struck down Nebraska's marriage amendment, claiming it was unconstitutional, a decision that underscored the need for a federal marriage amendment."

But not all Christian leaders agree. Rev. Tim Smith of the year-old progressive Christian Alliance of Jacksonville, Florida, called the Dobson list "a wonderful window into the vacuous worldview of American fundamentalism, its petty peeves and prejudices collected for all to see".

"Apart from Katrina, there is hardly a matter of substance on the list," he told IPS, asking, "Where on this list are the dead of the Iraq war and the tens of billions sunk into that money pit? Can one imagine a war being left off the top 10 stories of the year in 1943 (World War Two), 1953 (Korea) or 1968 (Vietnam)?"

"I think Jesus said something about straining on gnats while swallowing a camel that might apply here," he added.

Other issues Dr. Dobson's readers rated as important included:

(Bad news): Failure to establish an "xxx domain" for pornographic Web sites.

(Good news): Defeat of a hate-crimes amendment extending special protections to homosexuals.

(Bad news): New Air Force Academy guidelines that told the chaplains to "stop sharing their faith with cadets", stopped short of banning all public prayer and worship, but limited it to 'brief, nonsectarian prayer' at special ceremonies".

(Good news): The "battle for Christmas" and the attention paid by the mainstream media to local governments and major retailers banishing "Merry Christmas" on the grounds that it's not "inclusive" enough.

(Bad news): The Supreme court's rulings on a pair of cases involving public display of the Ten Commandments "failed to set a national standard for what's constitutional and what isn't" and created "further confusion about what forms of religious expression are allowable".

(Good news): Hurricanes and the Christian response -- "Christian ministries and everyday believers were indispensable to the recovery process".

CitizenLink summed up its findings by noting that "2005 was a whirlwind year for pro-family causes is the very definition of understatement. From the courts to the Congress, from public policy to the public square, the 365 days of the past 12 months were filled with miraculous victories and heartbreaking defeats for Christian Americans who advocate for righteousness."

In contrast, the website of another major religious group, The Sojourners, listed its own 2005 achievements. These included:

Participating in the G8 Summit in Scotland, where it helped convene a religious forum with more than 50 prominent Christian leaders from the U.S. and Britain, and pressed senior U.S. and British officials to cancel of 100 percent of the debt owed by 18 of the world's most impoverished countries and to double foreign assistance to sub-Saharan Africa.

Campaigning at the U.N. World Summit for "breaking the silence on the tragic deaths of 30,000 children daily due to poverty-related causes". The campaign successfully pressed the U.S. government to meet its commitments toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Standing up for people most affected by "misguided spending priorities" by generating 100,000 calls and e-mails to Congress to influence political leaders, the media, and other faith groups to speak out against "cutting billions of dollars in health care, child care, food stamps, and student loans".

Mobilising members to sign a "Katrina Pledge", containing "both a personal and political commitment to rebuild the devastated (U.S. Gulf) region while also reordering our national agenda to prioritise the needs of people living in poverty".

Sending more than 50,000 e-mails to Congress and the president opposing privatisation of the Social Security system.

Working to organise five interfaith worship services targeting Washington's key media and policymaking institutions to generate pressure to end the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and mobilising more than 900 vigils "to count the deadly human and political cost" of the Iraq war.

Urging Congress to support the successful efforts of Sen. John McCain, Republican of Arizona, to prohibit torture of prisoners held by the United States.

And speaking out against "attempts by the religious right to hijack Christianity for their own agenda" and cautioning Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, not to "play the faith card by telling people of faith that we must align ourselves with one narrow set of policies".

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