The Role of God in the 2012 US election

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 6:20 pm by Andre E. Johnson

The Role of God in the 2012 US election 2012-08-29T18:20:00-05:00 Andre E. Johnson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For many observers, religion is an emblematic feature of American politics. It is seen as a unique and confounding manifestation of American exceptionalism, in which religious fervor co-exists with an industrialized, “modern” democracy and an explicitly secular state. The course of the presidential race thus far might be viewed as yet another instance of America’s particular obsession with religion. Yet this campaign, for all its familiar tropes, both departs from the historical American norm and remind us that the US is not so unusual in its mix of religion and politics, after all.

Even before Paul Ryan’s selection for the Republican ticket, Rick Santorum’s and Mitt Romney’s primary campaigns for president meant that religion had already played a particularly vivid version of its familiar role in American electoral politics – one which went beyond the usual prayer breakfasts, pastoral exhortations, allegations of theological unsoundness, and public proclamations of the candidate’s commitment to Jesus, Christianity, and America united under one God.

The ultra-Catholic Rick Santorum, with his critique of Obama’s “false theology”, his passionate pronouncements on the evils of birth control and abortion, and his statement that John F Kennedy’s advocacy of the separation of church and state “made him want to throw up”, was coupled with the ongoing saga of Mitt Romney – the candidate no one seemed to want but had to choose – and his Mormonism, which raised the question of whether the adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints deserved to stand under broad and sheltering umbrella of American Christianity. The nomination of Ryan, with his ostensibly seamless dual commitment to the teachings of both the Catholic Church and the church of Ayn Rand, means that religion in the 2012 election has taken an even more prominent role as the Republican party convention is held this week.

Read the rest here

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 29, 2012

R3 Contributors to Host Radio Show

Next Post

August 29, 2012 Race/Religion/War: A Symposium

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Steele Andre E. Johnson Book Reviews/Series Brian Foulks Call for Chapters Carol Howard Merritt Classes Conferences Contributors Crystal St.Marie Lewis Daniel White Hodge Earle Fisher Eulogy Fredrick Robinson Guest Contributions Henry McNeal Turner Institutes Interviews Joseph Boston Katherine Whitfield Kimberly Peeler-Ringer Lectures/Roundtables Natalie Bullock Brown R3 Book Series R3 Contributor Rashad Grove Readers Reflections Symposiums Teaching Traci Ellis Travis Harris Uncategorized Video

Select a Month June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz