Once again, I am thoroughly convinced that the current religious debate in America does not conform to what the media portrays as a struggle between Christian Evangelicals and The Left or even between church and state. America's 21st century debate on religion invites a triad of philosophies to contend in the ring of American public opinion: religious secularism, religious pluralism and religious exceptionalism.
Religious secularism enters the fray with the least amount of support, endurance and possibility of victory. This nation may not be a Christian nation but one cannot deny it embraces spirituality. From our founding fathers, whether Deists or Christians, the faith narrative contextualized in our history cannot be denied.
Accordingly, faith, spirituality and consequently religion, will impact public discourse, elections, politics and foreign affairs. Not as the center piece of policy but rather as one of the elements that shapes the norms and mores by which policy is written. One cannot extrapolate from our ethos the faith or spiritual thread embedded in the American genome.
However, that very DNA pushes us to reject religious exceptionalism. A Hindu religious figure leading prayer in the Senate demonstrates that this nation embraces religious tolerance and pluralism and rejects religious exceptionalism and totalitarianism. This makes our nation great.
Where France and other European nations shun religion and all vestiges of spirituality from public life and while Iran and other countries persecute religious minorities, our nation thrives by presenting to the world this great idea, not just of American Democracy but of religious pluralism and tolerance.
At the end of the day, our greatest export may not be technology, popular culture or our brand of democracy but rather a commitment to religious pluralism, diversity and tolerance. A Hindu priest on the floor of the U.S. Senate may one day lead to a Christian pastor opening in prayer on the floor of Parliment in Iran and a Muslim cleric opening a session of the Knesset.
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