If New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg were to actually run for president one wonders how he would fare among those Americans for whom a candidate’s personal religiosity ranks among their greatest concerns. I am speaking, of course, of the so-called “values voters.”

Now, let me immediately confess that I occasionally find myself hurling profanities at this category because it is so vague and imprecise. Here is one ambiguity that always burns my feathers: What do the values voters, as construed by the Faith and Values Industry, want? Do they require that a given politician profess: (a) a religion, any religion, as long as it is genuinely practiced? or, (b) their own particular religion?

Continue »

In an interview to be aired next week on HDTV Michael Bloomberg has told Dan Rather that “nobody’s going to elect me president of the United States.” Only partial transcripts of the conversation are available, and it is hard to tell why the Mayor of New York came to this conclusion. It is also hard to tell whether the mayor actually believed this conclusion. But as far as conclusions taken out of context and made by PR-savvy politicians go, it strikes me as the right one.

Continue »

On Fridays, if all goes according to plan, I would like to try and respond to the comments my readers made during the week. Because of the sheer volume of responses I cannot address each one of them, let alone a fraction of them. But hopefully, you will soon trust that I am not avoiding tough questions and opposing viewpoints in an effort to ensure myself a restful weekend. A few other things to bear in mind:

1) I never write anything in the “comments” section under my name or any other.

2) Please recall that this is a blog, not a Heidelberg dissertation. The challenge consists of conveying reasonably complex ideas in the space of a few pithy paragraphs. If you would like to see me develop arguments with the depth and precision that befits scholarship, kindly consult my work published by academic presses and journals.

3) If at all possible, please resist the temptation to assume that I am shilling for this or that candidate. I will have more to say about my loyalties (and ambivalences) in due course. But before concluding that I am a member of the elite liberal media, or a cheerleader for Rudy Giuliani, or a paid member of Mitt Romney’s campaign staff, permit me to work my way through all of the leading presidential aspirants (Next week: Barack Obama).

Continue »

The results of my scientific poll of scholars of religion and theology at various universities (n = 14) have now been tabulated. The question asked was: “With which current presidential aspirant would you most like to sit down and discuss issues pertaining to faith—Church/State issues, Gnostic Gospels, Schleiermacher, anything?”

Save one stray vote for former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, every professor I spoke to expressed a preference for the same candidate. If, like me, you believe that the titles of classic Jazz albums are repositories of timeless wisdom and wit, then my campus findings may be summarized by the title of Bill Evans' 1958 masterpiece: “Everybody digs Barack Obama.”

Continue »

When tragedy strikes, many look to religion to help understand what has occurred and why. The religious community offers comfort and support in times of trouble. But religion is not only about consolation.

Religious institutions from time immemorial have engaged communities directly in action. After the 2004 tsunami, the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, and earthquakes in Peru, Pakistan, Iran and Japan, faith-inspired institutions were among the most active in bringing relief. The mobilization of energy and resources that we see through religious organizations of many kinds – large and small, of virtually all denominations, can show humankind at its finest. There are downsides too – especially where pressures to conform or convert are exerted on people who are at their most vulnerable, but they are a relatively small part of the story.

Many faith organizations have roots in emergencies – whether “natural” (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions), man-made (wars, strife), or a combination (famine, epidemic disease). But those who are closest to emergencies face painful questions: Why it is so often the most vulnerable who suffer? Why are dangers not averted? How can the horrible suffering in crises can be prevented? Story upon story tells of institutions, born during crises, with a specific humanitarian mission that broaden their horizons afterwards and work to address the deeper causes of human suffering and injustice.

Continue »

In 2004, 78% percent of White Evangelicals voted for George W. Bush. The GOP, I surmise, would like to achieve similar numbers in 2008. The danger presented by Barack Obama is not so much that he will completely reverse this result. Neither he, nor any other Democrat will be able to do that. It will be decades, if not longer, before Evangelicals return to the Party they once so faithfully supported. Rather, what Obama may be able to do is siphon off scads of “Swing Evangelicals” in battleground states. If I were a Republican operative I would dread the following scenario:

Continue »

Sen. Barack Obama’s popularity among the professorial set, as some of my readers observed, might be a source of grave concern to his handlers (see the commentator MARY CUNNINGHAM). Scholars, undoubtedly, have many sterling virtues. But representing the will of the American people is not one of them. George McGovern and Michael Dukakis, it must be noted, were also highly esteemed on campus. The Obama people, I bet, probably understand this. Since he is not running for president of UC Berkeley, they will probably not saturate news cycles with too many images of him working rope lines on the quads of America.

Continue »