Monday, February 04, 2008

Obama's Resonant Faith

For some time, and all the more so since President Bush’s move into the White House, the American public has associated faith and its infusion into politics as characteristic of the political Right. When raised in the public sphere, faith has meant believing in a more Judeo-Christian America whose foundations and well-being depend on a conservative social agenda- especially opposing abortion and gay marriage. It has meant a faith which holds that allowing a woman the right to reproductive choice and a person the right to choose his or her partner in matrimony can somehow rationalize an America in crisis; a faith which denies that a liberal can cling to his religion and maintain his integrity. Americans believing in a more nuanced faith have long lacked a champion of an alternative vision of religion, faith and politics behind which to rally. Some have fallen to the right where, although sometimes misrepresented, their religious allegiances are at least understood while others have gravitated to the left where seemingly few understand their convictions. Frustrated, still some others, often alienated youth, have ignored a politics with which they cannot identify.

Early this past summer, as candidates for the presidential nominations led their campaigns into full gear; anticipated questions about faith arose frequently. Republican candidates besides Minister Huckabee dealt cautiously with faith in order to avoid either alienating the Right’s Christian base which so handily supported President Bush or horrifying Republican moderates who saw Bush’s religious pandering as ultimately misguided and costly. Meanwhile, one candidate defied the analysts who assumed the left would struggle again with a long apparent weakness- continuing to ignore issues of faith and failing to inspire the faith which lies still in millions of Americans.

On June 28, 2007 Barack Obama stood before an evangelical audience at the “Building a Covenant for a New America” conference of the Christian poverty fighting organization, “Call to Renewal”. In a speech which a June 30, Washington Post Op-Ed called the “most important pronouncement by a Democract on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy…declared his independence from the Vatican in 1960”, Obama laid out his deeply impassioned religious calling and unique perspective. Remembering the nagging attack opponent religious-righter Alan Keyes leveled on his Christian faith during the 2004 Illinois Senate Race, Obama spoke of wrestling with his own faith and its tensions. With the “grounding of faith in struggle,” Obama affirmed that “faith doesn’t mean you don’t have doubts.” In his groundbreaking presentation, Obama acknowledged the problematic liberal tendency to shy away from discussions of faith. While emphasizing the need to bridge religious-secular gaps towards efforts of collaboration, he spoke of religion as an inspiration in his life and as a powerful force for social change.

Addressing the diversity of religious views and identities which makes America so dynamic Obama leveled, “Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values.” Such an affirmation could not be timelier as religion around the world increasingly pursues particularistic, exclusive, us versus them, ideologies and behaviors. “No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack,” Obama reminded the audience. Carefully addressing the inherent contradiction between religion fundamentally rejecting compromise and politics fundamentally demanding it, Obama instructed further, “To base one's life on uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing.” He acknowledged that, “faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence that all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy.” Discussing the ultimate leaper of faith, “we do not hear what Abraham hears, do not see what [he] sees, true as those experiences may be,” Obama reasoned that arguments in the political realm require explanations, “accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” He advised further, “Let’s read our bibles. Folks haven’t been.” His message, to which these few excerpts do limited justice, continues to prove it rings true for so many so marginalized by the faith-politics status-quo in America.

Many credit Obama’s oratorical talent alone for his execution of a wildly successful grassroots campaign for the Democratic nomination. As critics continue to call his policies vague and his experience insufficient, Obama’s bid for the Presidency will ultimately depend on how he responds to these claims and if he proves himself capable. But for some time, neither a voice for a religious vision providing solid grounding for the left nor an ambassador for a left reaching out to the religiously inspired emerged. Moreover, no voice for religion as a tool for uniting rather than dividing the country prevailed. As a young liberal Jew, I believe Obama represents this emergent voice as a figure whose profound expressions of faith are both unique and deeply resonant. A dear friend of mine and leader of Students for Barack Obama on his campus recently shared with me how he continues to find contributing to the Obama campaign nothing short of “spiritually uplifting”. Judging by the truly diverse array of Americans giving in whatever ways they can to support Obama, I have to believe that he is not alone. That Barack Obama has dragged so many Americans off of the political periphery is a great testament to his personality, message and vision, and to his faith.

Along with a summary of the key values in Obama’s public statements on faith and politics, the full “Call to Renewal” speech can be found on the Barack Obama campaign website. He closes his monumental address with a prayer, “That we can live with one another in a way that reconciles the beliefs of each with the good of all. It's a prayer worth praying,” he says, “and a conversation worth having in this country in the months and years to come.” What an exciting, empowering, and truly novel idea.