A person's faith is a window into their soul. For a politician, how he or she speaks about his or her faith will tell you something about how they will govern. Stephen Mansfield, author of the new book The Faith of Barack Obama, says that examining the Senator's faith journey gave him insight not only into the Democratic presidential nominee, but insight into larger cultural trends as well.
"Barack Obama's faith and his spiritual journey not only are shaping this election but also, as you tell the story and reflect on it, capture many of the trends that are most powerful and transforming in this age," said Mr. Mansfield in a recent interview.
One of those trends is one that Mr. Mansfield says has largely been missed by the mainstream media: a gradual shift of young evangelicals to the Democrats. Part of this trend is due to the recent loss of prominent national Religious Right leaders such as Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy, as well as the prominent moral failure of former National Association of Evangelicals president Ted Haggard. But part of this trend is also due to younger voters that Senator Obama has energized through the campaign.
"The younger voters coming on line tend to be postmodern theologically to the extent they are theological at all and tend to lean leftward in their politics," said Mr. Mansfield.
Mr. Mansfield argues that Senator Obama is a person with whom these young, liberal evangelicals identify because he shares their values. In order to make that argument, he had to address head-on the issue of Obama's true faith, as well as his church, both of which, so far, have been the subject of much controversy in this campaign. He deals with the issue by first dealing with one of the big unanswered questions of the campaign: why Obama chose to attend Trinity United Church of Christ whose pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, has infamously made anti-American and hate-filled statements from the pulpit.
"I think Obama is very clear that he first went to church to get connected to a church not so much out of a spiritual search but because people he was working with in the South side of Chicago challenged him that he would be more successful if he had some connections to church, some connection to faith. But I think in time he was captured by the Gospel," said Mr. Mansfield.
It is that Christian faith, that Senator Obama would bring into his administration should he be elected this fall. He has already signaled an intention to continue the faith-based initiatives begun by President George W. Bush. But an Obama election could also provide the impetus for a major shift in American politics."Obama is a unique creature because he is so deeply Christian who intends to bring his faith to bear on public policy and is very much on the left," said Mr. Mansfield. "I think what is diminishing is a secular approach to politics and what's arising is a faith-based approach to politics and now I think we have the opportunity in this country for the great debate between a right-leaning, limited government, low taxes, anti-abortion type of faith-based politics and then the more left-leaning version of that on the other side."
Article comments
1 - Baronius
The leftward movement of evangelicals is a very OVER-reported story. It holds a place for the liberal press the same as the rightward movement of blacks holds for the conservative press. It's something they anticipate every election, but it never really happens. But they keep writing about it.
There are two reasons that Obama seems to be getting evangelical support. One, that the evangelical world isn't as monolithic as it seems to the outsider. Two, that they don't believe they have a conservative choice this election. Give them a pro-life small-government candidate that they trust, and you'll see a very different election.
2 - Teri Foss
Ya know, I'm a pro-lifer, as one's DNA is established at the moment of conception and the miracle of life is brought forth in a magnificent display of replicating brilliance, but as far as overall values go, I see truth in the broader message that Democrats share, one that doesn't just give lip service to the human element, but serves as the very core of their intentions. Republicans' focus seems much more narrow. They mistake limited government to mean only government that serves the needs of the business man, falsely assuming that his inner goodness will overcome his greed and "trickle down," in time, to the lesser among us, blissfully ignorant of the causal relations in the harsh world around him that he has had the good fortune to escape. His justification lies in the proof of his success, his just reward "from heaven" for his "right living." To me, this is the antithesis to Christianity. On the other hand, the true regard for one's fellow man and the attempt to share his burden, whether through personal sacrifice or through broader organizational effort, is the heart of Christianity. Whether one wants to admit it or not, in heart and soul, they are performing the work of the Lord when their spirit is quickened to his fellow man's, or creature's, cause and he is moved to act. This is what the Democratic vision of government attempts to do.
The government of the U.S. is supposed to be about checks and balances. The founding fathers recognized the tendency toward base desires, i.e., greed, when opportunity strikes, and for self-made agendas to somehow flourish when one is in the position of power. Thus, the Constitution was enacted as a working instrument, meant to guard against this innate tendency of man; a dynamic instrument that, by its very nature, left a pathway for the common man's voice to be heard, that set him on an equal footing in the eye of the law in order to challenge the powers-that-be, echoing throughout society and into the highest offices among us, challenging the false images of justice and not ceasing to be heard until every last man, woman or child can fully embrace true equality, not in money, necessarily, but in the affordance of the opportunity to pursue his greatest potential. Money isn't the full equation, but it is an essential part of the equation, for if the rich man knew that his money didn't afford him a wealth of opportunities, he wouldn't be so desperate to hold on to it and eager to amass more of it, even at the expense of others who have to forego their own hopes of opportunity in order to assuage his. Thus, the only real checks and balances that this government seems to uphold anymore is the blank check for the wealthy and an economic system that maintains his positive balance.
Our country has ceased to be a vital democracy, instead, it has become a society run amok with unbridled capitalism, its pulpits preaching the praises of consumerism as our only moral obligation, admonishing its citizens to blindly spend, spend, spend in schizophrenic fashion so as to keep its economic engines thriving for the fictitious "good of the whole." All the while we have managed to dig ourselves into the deepest financial mess this country has ever known. Among other things, Republicans want to make an argument out of abortion to gain their constituent base, as though it’s a black and white, for or against proposition. Abortion is a symptom of the larger problems inherent in our society, this quick-fix, throw-away mentality that fuels and is fueled by our consumerist values. When have we ever been a society to take care of our mothers, our women, and to give them full recognition under equality of the law for all the thankless tasks they perform? The poverty and hardships at the bottom of society are a result of this. We can’t afford not to begin spending our money wisely and start investing in the human infrastructure of our communities. Thus, if we’re talking about the spirituality of Barack Obama having an impact on Republican evangelicals this year, it’s because they echo the message of familiar hardship and empathy that reverberates from the depth of his soul. It’s because they see the true spirit of Christ in his actions and his vision. And even though he stumbles from time to time and is still forming the tactical game plan of his vision, they hear the call of challenged civil duty and are ready to rise to action, as they’ve been waiting a long time for a leader that doesn’t think he has all the answers, but makes the urgent plea to the people of all walks to come together and figure a way out of the complex direness of issues that we face as a country today, one that’s part of an ever emerging global community"and to do it in the true nature of our nation"democratically!
3 - Jesus
Teri Foss: Amen.