Religious Leaders and Politics

So there has been a lot of new controversy over the statements of religious leaders after the attacks on 9-11. The pastor of Barack Obama's church is the latest. On Sept. 16, 2001 Reverend Jeremiah Wright said, "We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost." Also, Reverend Wright in a sermon in 2003 damned the US for its treatment of Black Americans.

Also, after 9-11, Reverend Jerry Falwell appeared on the TV program "700 Club," hosted by televangelist Pat Robertson. Here is part of their discussion.

Falwell stated, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

Pat Robertsen replied, "Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system

Fallwell has connections to John McCain. McCain gave the commencement address Saturday at Falwell's Liberty University in 2006. Falwell also hosted a meet and greet for McCain in 2007.
Robertson and Falwell both endorsed Bush for his presidency, but Bush did condemn their statements.

Now, what do I make of this. Religious leaders say some pretty crazy stuff. You can't hold their followers responsible for everything they say. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep religion out of politics. Oh yeah, I think Thomas Jefferson made certain to include a separation of church and state in the Constitution. Rev. Wright blamed 9-11 on the US goverment for what he percieves as sins against others. Falwell and Robertson blamed 9-11 on US citizens and the government for what they perceive as sins against God. I think that some of what each of them believe might have also been felt by Bin Laden and his followers, but let us remember that they are a bunch of psycho terrorists who needlessly killed innocent people.

As an additional note, McCain has run into some issues with another evangelical leader, Texas pastor John Hagee. Hagee has suggested that Hurricane Katrina may have resulted from God’s displeasure over a gay pride parade. He has also repeatedly linked Adolf Hitler to the Catholic Church and has suggested that Islam is an inherently violent faith.

After receiving the endorsement, McCain stated:

And I am very proud of the Pastor John Hagee’s spiritual leadership to thousands of people and I am proud of his commitment to the independence and the freedom of the state of Israel. That does not mean that I support or endorse or agree with some of the things that Pastor John Hagee might have said or positions that he may have taken on other issues. I don’t have to agree with everyone who endorses my candidacy. They are supporting my candidacy. I am not endorsing some of their positions.

After a rise in criticism over the endorsement, the McCain campaign released another statement:

Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not.