Faith and Politics, in Ohio

This sounds pretty neat. Over in Columbus, Ohio, they got some preachers and religious leaders from the left and the right together and had a forum, let everybody express their hopes and fears, especially focusing on questions about the role of religion in American politics.

The Columbus Dispatch tells you about it:

The country has gone awry when children can't sing Silent Night or pray in school, a minister told an audience Downtown yesterday.

"The forces of darkness … should never silence people of faith," said Russell Johnson, senior pastor of the Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster.

"We don't want to be muzzled behind stained-glass windows. We want to make a difference."

Eric Williams, senior pastor of North Congregational Church of Christ in Columbus, said he is concerned when religious values won't value all citizens.

"The church needs to stand apart from government and be an able partner so that all citizens might benefit," Williams said.

Johnson and others argued the left has worked to stifle the voice of religion in the U.S.

Williams and others voiced a concern that some in the religious right are promoting a Protestant theocracy. Faith's place in politics debated: Event questions role of the right and left in pushing agendas

Reading this, you want to agree with both of them. People will believe, and that's fine. Honestly, I think the problem comes when some people think they should convert other people to their religion. If it wasn't for that, what's wrong with a little Silent Night at Christmastime? It's a pretty enough song. It seems to me that our schools in Rockville typically have a holiday concert, and they do songs from a lot of religions. Well, we have students from a lot of religions, that makes sense to me, especially if the music's good. It's not necessarily just "politically correct" to sing songs that reflect other ways of life, is it?

And the theocracy thing, too. What he said.

Anyway, it's not easy. I can't say I have the answer.

(Hey, this was funny, the rightwing web site WorldNet Daily had a letter last year that put the shoe on the other foot. Check it out HERE. This dude had his eyes opened for good.)

So what was this event?

The speakers were joined by activists on their respective sides, at a forum called "Church and State in Ohio's Electoral Politics." An audience of more than 150 watched a lively but civil discussion in the Riffe Center.

"The issue in Ohio is the same all over the country," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which co-sponsored the forum. "Will churches willingly or unwittingly become soap boxes for certain candidates?"

Williams and 30 other ministers filed a complaint against Johnson and World Harvest Church Pastor Rod Parsley in January, claiming the two were violating laws for tax-exempt organizations. The ministers said the evangelical pastors were politicking for J. Kenneth Blackwell, the conservative Republican candidate for governor. Johnson leads the conservative Ohio Restoration Project to enlist "patriot pastors" and register "values voters" for conservative causes.

All of the panelists agreed that church leaders can speak about issues such as abortion, poverty and war in the context of current events.

Well, it goes on. Follow the link for more.

You see that phrase -- "lively but civil?" I like that. It definitely sounds like these guys said what they meant, didn't beat around the bush, but they didn't have to get all CRC about it. I don't see where anybody sued anybody afterwards. I didn't see anybody accusing anybody of being atheists or Satanists.

Of course religion is at the heart of our controversy here over sex education in Montgomery County. Some people say their religion tells them that homosexuality is a sin, and they don't think it ought to be mentioned in a health class. Others belong to religions that promote the idea that gay people can and should stop being gay, and they think that ought to be part of the curriculum. And some of us just think it would be nice to teach what most scientific and medical experts in the field believe to be true, and what anybody with common sense sees to be the kindest approach, that some people are just gay and that's that.

We're planning to have a forum soon on this topic, ourselves. Teach the Facts is working with another group to present some discussions of the role of religion in the schools. We have been contacting speakers, and arranging a room and stuff, for later in November. It's tricky, these preachers are busy people. But we think it would be worthwhile to bring together some leaders from different religious institutions in our county, and hear what they think about the interaction of religion and education. Should religion be kept out of the schools? What speech is protected, and what is offensive? The pamphlet-in-the-backpack thing -- I don't think anybody's happy with the way that whole issue has gone -- what about materials that get handed out at school? How should religion affect the development of a curriculum, or should it at all?

None of this is easy, America has been negotiating a tricky course for the last couple of hundred years. The interpretations keep changing, but the Constitution stands solid.

Anyway, we'll keep you informed about our plans as we go along.