Obama’s Lost Religion
In 2012, Obama managed to unite Christian leaders around the country in open opposition to him. Clergy composed lawsuits and anti-Obama campaigns while Obama refused to engage the very people he said he would represent in a speech in 2006. Obama is a devout Christian, but he has sidelined the leaders who helped elect him in 2008 to pursue his own policy agendas. His recent actions towards Catholic bishops and other pro-traditional marriage clergy suggest Obama endorses faith leaders he agrees with and becomes reticent with those he doesn’t. If Obama were a private citizen, it would be a non-issue. Casting out other beliefs but retaining your own is the definition of faith. But Obama is not a private citizen. He’s supposed to be a non-partisan leader who is able to rise above, something he has not done with religious leaders this year.
Last January, the Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its mandate would not extend its conscience exemption to many religious organizations, instead keeping its narrow definition of “church” to only places of worship. The HHS now mandates organizations such as Catholic hospitals and charities to provide health insurance plans for their employees that include free coverage for contraception and sterilization. Obama calls the mandate “fair”; Catholic bishops call it an egregious assault on religious freedom. Legal questions aside, Obama failed to consider and dialogue with a faith that has been campaigning against contraception for the better part of the last century. The HHS did offer a concession, announcing that insurance companies needed to bear the cost, amounting to a technicality that did not quell the theological issues at the heart of the debate. No conferences have been called, no telephone calls trying to reconcile. Obama spurned Catholic leaders, culminating in scathing editorials and the Fortnight of Freedom, a two week series of vigils and feasts the bishops created to “save our religious freedom.”
Then, Obama endorsed gay marriage. Obama did say he consulted with his “spiritual leaders” for guidance before going ahead with the position he was always going to take. After the announcement, Obama called roughly eight black Christian leaders to placate them, but not to debate with them. His efforts went unheeded as black pastors organized an anti-Obama campaign in early August to oppose his position on gay marriage and nothing else. The coalition of pastors do have Republican ties, but if they were motivated by purely ideological reasons rather than theological thinking, then the debate boils down to a strict partisan divide (Democrats officially incorporated gay marriage into their platform soon after.) Obama’s actions either leave him on bad theological terms with the pastors or on bad partisan terms — probably both, in reality. Even though many religious leaders still debate the merits of gay marriage, Obama moved on to other issues, curtailing the debate.
Overall, Obama seems content with his actions. His own faith council is defunct, showing his reluctance to engage with religious leaders at the same level he did before his 2008 election. Politico reports:
The president’s first Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships delivered a 163-page report in March 2010 and then disbanded. The second council has waited more than a year for a full slate of appointees and has yet to meet. And the hottest issue — whether religious groups that receive public money can discriminate in hiring — remains unresolved more than three years after Obama promised to address it.
Obama emphasizes his Christian faith while disregarding other Christians’ views. He holds prayer dinners, hosts religious leaders of all faiths, and will dine with Cardinal Dolan at the Al Smith Dinner in October while Dolan and other bishops are suing his administration. Obama has not eschewed all religious leaders, only those with whom he disagrees. Is a president’s faith a license to justify his policies, or a signal that he has the theological framework to engage with citizens in one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world?
However, do not expect this to affect his next election. Blacks consistently vote Democrat, and the gay marriage issue is not enough to sway a significant portion. Many lay Catholics approve of contraceptives. The overall “Catholic vote” splits evenly along party lines, although a majority voted for Obama in 2008, contributing to his win. Obama’s mishandling of the HHS mandate may sway a few Catholic swing voters, but the lasting effect will be lawsuits and a prolonged battle for the rest of Obama’s tenure.