Dems Talk Faith & Politics
It's not often a roomful of Senators open up to talk about their faith to reporters - on the record for that matter. But at this year's Faith Media Roundtable, they shared their views on the intersection of religion, politics and much more.
In the past, Democrats appeared to have a tougher time talking about their faith with much comfort - more so than their conservative counterparts. Perhaps that's a result of the party's cherished identity of inclusiveness. Faith tends to alienate some of their party's core, especially among the more liberal factions. However, they have been taking aggressive steps toward reaching out to leaders in the faith community, which was particularly evident in 2008.
The goal was to show how much of the Democratic agenda was tied to what they identified as issues of moral, social and economic justice. With less than 100 days before the 2010 midterm elections, their point was dramatically emphasized with a huge sign on posterboard that read, "Don't Cut Off America's Recovery." The inference, only lost on a rock, was that if Republicans were to regain control of leadership, policies such as financial reform, health care, etc - aimed to help "the least of these" - would go by the wayside. It should be noted that this event did not include any Republicans as it was coordinated by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. Here are some of the highlights:
-On issues where the politics don't match the teachings of their church:
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said he struggles with the teachings of the Catholic church on several issues. "It's pretty basic to me. This is who I am," Durbin explained about his differences with the Church. He expressed that it boils down to conscience, not religion or dogma. He cited, as an example, the distribution of condoms in Africa to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.
-On the passage of the Affordable Care Act:
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) credited the "strong voice" of the faith community for health care reform. She said Catholic nuns, who broke with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops" during a critical stage of the debate, made all the difference.
-On the power of faith in Congress:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn). heads up a weekly prayer breakfast with Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). She says the weekly meetings give her an opportunity to understand some of her colleagues' faith and their experiences and find common ground based on shared values.
