Today the second meeting of the Faith Caucus was held here in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Everything that happened today will be obviously overshadowed by the historic events of tonight – Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and all the fireworks. But I want to chronicle just a bit about what happened at the Faith Caucus.
Two panels of religious leaders representing America’s diverse faith traditions spoke about issues of concern to the nation’s faith community.
The first panel was devoted to international issues:
Sister Simone Campbell spoke from NETWORK spoke about poverty, AIDS and the need for pre-natal care and the role America can play in supporting developing nations.
Dr. Preeta Bansal, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told the delegates and guests that the U.S. needs to press allies on the need for religious freedom and other issues such as women’s rights.
Climate change was the issue discussed by Dr. David Gushee , with Evangelicals for Social Action.
The University of Denver’s Dr. Claude d’Estree spoke about the issue of human trafficing.
All of these speakers brought important issues to the table. They urged action in a future Obama Administration and helped education the public further on issues of real concern to people of faith. I hope readers here will visit some of the links I’m providing to learn more.
The second panel focused on voter outreach and how people of faith can ethically and legally engage in the political process. This is, of course, an issue that I have preached on and thought on long and hard. My own bottom line is this: religious people have every right to be involved with partisan political issues but our religious institutions (churches, etc.) have no place on that battlefield. Churches (using my own context) should be about building the Kingdom of God and not about winning the White House. It is important, therefore, to note that most of the participants in the two days of Faith Caucus meetings appeared as individuals and not in their organizational capacities.
One person who did appear representing his organization was The Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy, director of The Interfaith Alliance and host of Air America’s State of Belief. He reminded participates that America needs to be a place that includes all people of faith – along with people of no faith – and that a president should never been seen as trying to use his or her office to promote a religious agenda. I concur.
Governor Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the United Church of Christ, made much the same point during a surprise appearance.
Rabbi Steve Gutow from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (someone I first met while in St. Louis when I was attending seminary) also echoed that idea. He said that faith ought to inform our decisions but that there always needs to be room for disagreement and dialogue.
Visit People of Faith for Barack for more information and on-going discussion.
