Monday, February 20, 2012

Did Santorum say Obama was not a Christian?

My ears perk up when religion is mentioned in public discourse. And, over the last couple of days, there is been a great deal of such talk. A friend, referencing this talk, asked me: “What really happened (overt spin aside)?” Here is my answer.

Appearing at a Christian Alliance meeting in Ohio on Saturday, Rick Santorum mentioned President Obama’s energy policy, which involves encouraging the development of cleaner sources of power. He then characterized this policy position as a “phony theology.”

Here’s what Santorum said on the Obama administration’s energy policy: “It’s not about you, it’s not about your quality of life, it’s not about your jobs. It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology—not a theology based on the Bible but a different theology, no less a theology.”

Environmentalists have been disappointed with Obama’s very modest record. Nonetheless, Santorum was suggesting that concern for the environment is a quasi-religious theology. And, further, the Obama administration’s energy policies reflect this quasi-religious philosophy.

Ben LaBolt, the press secretary of Obama’s reelection campaign, said the Santorum’s remarks represented a “new low” in the Republican primary campaign. Asked about Ben LaBolt’s characterization later in the day, Santorum responded by criticizing the administration’s handling of the religious exemption for contraception. He said:

“It is a new low. The President has reached a new low in this country’s history of oppressing religious freedom that we have never seen before. And if he doesn’t want to call his imposition of his values a theology, that’s fine. But it is an imposition of his values over a Church who has very clear theological reasons for opposing what the Obama Administration is forcing on them.”

When asked whether he believes Obama is “less of a Christian” because of his policy positions, Santorum responded, “No one’s suggesting that. I’m suggesting — well, obviously, as we all know in the Christian Church, there are a lot of different stripes of Christianity. I’m just saying he’s imposing his values on the Church, and I think that’s wrong…If the President says he’s a Christian, he’s a Christian.”

On Sunday morning, when Santorum appeared on CBS’s “Meet the Press,” and explained that his phony theology remark was about “radical environmentalism...this idea that man is here to serve the earth rather than to husband and steward the earth’s resources.” He went on to say:

“I wasn’t suggesting the President’s not a Christian. I accept the fact that the President’s a Christian. I just said that when you have a worldview that elevates the earth above man, and says we can’t take those resources because we are going to harm the earth, this is just all an attempt to centralize power and give more power to the government. It’s not questioning the President’s beliefs in Christianity. I’m talking about his…the belief that man should be in charge of the earth, should have dominion over it, and should be good stewards over it.”

In summary, (1) Santorum accepts the fact that President Obama is a Christian. (2) Santorum believes that the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage in health insurance is too narrow and is an infringment of religious liberty. (3) Santorum also believes that “radical environmentalism” (the belief that “man is here to serve the earth rather than to husband and steward the earth’s resources”) is a quasi-religious notion he labels “phony theology,” and further believes that President Obama’s energy policy is based on this “phony theology.”

2 comments:

Charles Hawkins said...

“Radical Evironmentalists” or “Radical Islamists”

What?

Rick Santorum’s national press secretary, Alice Stewart, on MSNBC, claimed that Santorum wasn't questioning Obama's religion (see my earlier bolg post on that topic). Instead, she said, he was talking about “radical environmentalists, there is a type of theological secularism when it comes to the global warmists in this country. That's what he was referring to. He was referring to the president's policies, in terms of the radical Islamic policies the president has and specifically in terms of energy exploration.”

Later, reports MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Stewart called, "while the show was on the air—to say she regretted the slip of the tongue, and to please note that she had misspoken and did not realize until it was pointed out to her that she had used the word 'Islamic' by mistake."

In summary, (1) She did say, “radical Islamic policies…” (2) But, it was a slip of the tongue. (3) And I’ll add, give her break, everybody has had a slip of the tongue and said not what they meant to say, but something else altogether.

Analysis

Now, while the words “Islamic,” “theology,” and “secularism” are being used and the use of such terms always interests me, this news item is not really about religion in any direct way.

Santorum is using the word “theology” in a manner similar to the way others use the “religiously.” For example, “Sam takes his dog for a walk religiously.” Here the word “religiously” is meant to convey the idea that an act (in this case, walking the dog) is practiced with devotion, given importance, and taken very seriously. Likewise, Santorum is using the word “theology” to convey the notion that it is a set of beliefs of great importance to the believers and as such is unshakable in their hearts and minds.
The reason the metaphor he has chosen is so powerful, however, is because heart-felt convictions are important to his audience and words with religious connotations are indicative of heart-felt convictions. In this case he is trying to convey that (1) you have heart-felt convictions and deeply held beliefs that you cherish and (2) others have different heart-felt convictions and deeply held beliefs that they cherish. Further, the heart-felt convictions and deeply held beliefs that you cherish are correct and the heart-felt convictions and deeply held beliefs of others are wrong. In this case, the heart-felt convictions and deeply held beliefs that are cherished by some environmentalists are wrong-headed and these cherished beliefs and convictions are shaping the public policy of the Obama administration.

gordoncstewart.com said...

Good piece. Here's a piece that speaks to Santorum's comments and to the Mormon prosy bapatisms: http://gordoncstewart.com/2012/02/08/the-religion-of-american-exceptionalism/

Good luck in the pulpit tomorrow. My grandchildren live in Shelbyville. Godon