Thomas Jefferson, 1786[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Recently Franklin Graham was interviewed on the topic of religion and politics. He underlined the importance of faith, specifically Christianity, and when asked if Obama is Christian, answered he believed the President is but that Obama has given Muslims “a pass.” How does that compare with the American view historically and how has it impacted social and political relationships?
In an MSNBC interview Graham spelled out his concerns that President Obama has been ignoring the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries. Newsmax reports detailed the contents of the interview.
“Under Islamic law, under Shariah law, Islam sees him as a son of Islam, because his father was a Muslim, his grandfather was a Muslim, his great-grandfather was a Muslim,” Graham said. He went on to explain, “So under Islamic law, the Muslim world sees President Obama as a Muslim, as a son of Islam. That's just the way it works. That's the way they see him.”
When asked if Graham believes Obama is “categorically not a Muslim,” Graham said,
I can't say categorically because Islam has gotten a free a pass under Obama.
Since the inception of American independence, religion and politics have been uncomfortable sleeping companions, especially during thorny times. For Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of American democracy and a scholar on many subjects, religion was a serious matter, intimately related to individual freedom and belief. He often spoke of religion and its importance in human experience; and although he didn’t claim to be regimentally involved in any one religious group, he did recognize the concept of God, creation, and man’s need to reach for the infinite. But he too found the insertion of religion into political debate something that created consternation, controversy and division. He also believed strongly in the right to question religious belief.
The scholar and statesman, Jefferson, was a man of the Enlightenment, recommending by letter to his nephew Peter Carr in 1787: Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
Yet it is the fear expressed by politicians and their supporters that is aroused in many political debates about religion.
Religion has been part of the discussion referencing freedom as much as almost any other topic throughout U.S. history. It remains part of the political debate in the 21st century. It has, however, changed to a sectarian argument, and the issue of who is best, has the right set of beliefs and attitudes, is a major part of the dissension.
Jefferson recognized the fact that Christianity was not alone in its place in man’s array of religious beliefs. His notion was to protect that individual freedom of belief, especially important given the fact so much persecution had occurred in the countries from which many people had fled. It was also a part of the religious persecution that occurred in the colonies, to include the burning of “witches,” or those who seemed to hold what were considered heretical views by the majority. For that reason, the protection of religion became critical in the creation of the Constitution. Still the debate about that protection continues to be part of the political arguments raised throughout history. Jefferson’s own views have also been argued, with one side taking the stance that Jefferson was specifically protecting Christianity as the principal religion of America while others believe he had a broader view. In fact scholars tell us that Jefferson’s philosophy was not specifically Christian and that there is nothing in the Declaration specific to Christianity.
Jefferson’s writings to John Adams, his nemesis at times and later his friend, reflect his specific view of how distorted the ideas can be of those who describe themselves as followers of Christ and most confidently maintain their specific beliefs referencing Jesus, especially with reference to politics.
“The truth is that the greatest enemies to the doctrines of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them for the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in his genuine words. And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors."
In the 1960’s, change came not just in technology and the development of advancements in science, medicine, and every domain of human life. Religion, rather than dying as some predicted and others maintain created aberrations, was vibrant and important in America. A bigger tent unfolded, however, allowing people to question traditional beliefs and to begin to explore new ways of worshipping that one God so many people believe central to faith itself. That questioning in some ways reflected Jefferson’s admonition to his nephew, and in that sense became an echo of the value of religious freedom expressed by one of the great founders of the United States. The 1960’s, according to historians, represented the birth of new seekers. But along with it came the renewal of Evangelism and the beginnings of the Religious Right. Those divisions between those new seekers and the more traditional Christian groups remain today as part of the fabric of politics and faith.
