Liberals Don't Believe In God
That’s what the radio just told me. In the recent three years I’ve been hearing a lot on the subject. Or at least a lot of the same five words: “religious republicans and liberal democrats.” The media seem to have comfortably settled on this phrase to compare the two biggest political parties in the United States.
Didn’t it used to be conservatives versus liberals? Or, heck, republicans versus democrats? Am I to infer that if a democrat visits a church/synagogue/mosque, belongs to a religion, or believes in God that she must actually a republican instead? By definition, does “liberal” exclude “religion”? Does God stand at some gigantic poll booth in the sky, voting?
Therein lies my concern. Why is anyone anywhere, let alone everywhere, putting forth the impression that one U.S. political party works for God? Is this a religious war?
David W. was a big help and he wasn’t even trying. I met David at church. We chatted about the usual Sunday morning topics: free church desserts and coffee, Reverend Katherine’s sermon, treating all people with dignity and respect. After that petered out, David mentioned that he’d attended Baptist church most of his life. Not knowing a whole lot about Baptists, I expressed an assumption that he must have encountered differences between the Baptist and Unitarian Universalist churches.
“Not really,” David replied. “You might not think it, but I’ve found that there are liberals and conservatives in every demonination. In my Baptist church we, along with the minister, participated in peace rallies and gay rights marches. A liberal in the Baptist tradition is the same type of person as the liberal in any religion, including Unitarian. And a conservative is a conservative. People are people, no matter where they are.”
Ahh... there it is. Humanity is fascinating again. I’m back open. It can’t be Us versus Them because it’s, like, all Us.
Those who give fear do not give understanding. Fortunately, there is so much wisdom in this world. We can tell when wisdom is true because it will always make us less afraid, more caring toward others, and more open to the world. Now, that’s the kind of party I want to listen to.
Didn’t it used to be conservatives versus liberals? Or, heck, republicans versus democrats? Am I to infer that if a democrat visits a church/synagogue/mosque, belongs to a religion, or believes in God that she must actually a republican instead? By definition, does “liberal” exclude “religion”? Does God stand at some gigantic poll booth in the sky, voting?
Therein lies my concern. Why is anyone anywhere, let alone everywhere, putting forth the impression that one U.S. political party works for God? Is this a religious war?
David W. was a big help and he wasn’t even trying. I met David at church. We chatted about the usual Sunday morning topics: free church desserts and coffee, Reverend Katherine’s sermon, treating all people with dignity and respect. After that petered out, David mentioned that he’d attended Baptist church most of his life. Not knowing a whole lot about Baptists, I expressed an assumption that he must have encountered differences between the Baptist and Unitarian Universalist churches.
“Not really,” David replied. “You might not think it, but I’ve found that there are liberals and conservatives in every demonination. In my Baptist church we, along with the minister, participated in peace rallies and gay rights marches. A liberal in the Baptist tradition is the same type of person as the liberal in any religion, including Unitarian. And a conservative is a conservative. People are people, no matter where they are.”
Ahh... there it is. Humanity is fascinating again. I’m back open. It can’t be Us versus Them because it’s, like, all Us.
Those who give fear do not give understanding. Fortunately, there is so much wisdom in this world. We can tell when wisdom is true because it will always make us less afraid, more caring toward others, and more open to the world. Now, that’s the kind of party I want to listen to.
Comments