LeMon Aid: Under scrutiny: Faith's role in politics

As a Christian, during this present presidential parody, I have watched my personal faith get analyzed, homogenized, scrutinized and categorized. Like a cadaver in medical school lab under the scalpel of eager third-year docs-in-waiting, it seems every tissue of my belief system has been sliced and diced and then placed under the politically smeared microscope of CNN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, FOX and ABC.

I find it invasive to listen to what political operatives believe are my beliefs. They often get it wrong.

I have spent some time trying to figure out why I felt invaded and sometimes scoured in private, holy places in my life. There are four reasons that immediately come to mind.

First, the demonstration, agenda and practice of my spirituality only seems to be of interest every four years. It seems faith has been successfully reduced, along with such tantalizing categories as household income, race and marital status, into reams of mathematical grids about the American electorate.

With the precision of an IBM printout, the wonks who want the key to the front door of the White House can determine what word works best for “God” in Altoona and Alhambra.

So the candidates get daily briefs by their handlers on this voluminous religious metric. Therefore, when asked by an interviewer about their personal commitment to faith, the response may include, “Jesus is my personal Savior,” and “I was a sinner until I met Jesus Christ … I am not perfect … but I am forgiven.”

Are those words driven by political expediency or because this wannabe commander-in-chief believes what he just said? More importantly, will this transparent spirituality go under ground after the votes are counted only to be resurrected for the next election?

Second, the media will proudly tell us they are investigating the next commander-in-chief’s relationship with the Almighty because personal faith is always a reflection of the candidate’s “values.”

Good assumption – but it’s not always true. A lot of us have lived long enough to listen to presidents conclude the State of the Union with an emotionally laden quote of Scripture only to lie the next day when it became politically convenient. The White House has been the scene of private worship services and equally private unholy liaisons. And the Cabinet room has echoed with prayer just before injustice was unanimously approved.

It seems to me “a person of faith” can be a convenient whitewash for an absence of values. We just have to become discriminating consumers of the presidential faith-full.

Third, are we hiring a pastor, priest, rabbi, imam or a president?

The founders of our constitution explicitly insisted this nation will never establish or tolerate a state religion. That passion for the freedom of religions was the result of watching European theocracies where all heads were bowed to one deity – or those heads rolled.

Think about it. Right now, our present military campaigns in Asia Minor are, in part, to bring “freedom” to people who are under the tyranny of just one religion.

So how can we pitch private presidential piety, marked by the right dogma with the right words, spoken by the right (and large) voting bloc, as the entrée to the White House? We should be hiring a proven leader, who has demonstrated by a lifetime of proven values. The top of our ticket should be someone whose faith is at his core and will not be blown out the window of the West Wing with changing political winds.

We are not hiring someone to “minister” to us; rather we are hiring a leader who has been ministered to.

Finally, I want to know, as a committed follower of Christ, why this national conversation about faith has to be politically episodic.

There is something terribly insincere and tawdry about our every-four-year interest in our president’s faith. If faith is eternal, why is this not a subject that is always on the table?

If we are serious about the right person in the “bully pulpit,” it seems to me, we would continually conduct a national discussion about the value-based leadership of the person in the Oval Office. And I am convinced, as a believer, this discussion should include how the president’s core values are protecting the global environment, the oppressed, the poor, the victimized, and all those who choose not to say, “Jesus is my Savior.”

When we only drop God’s name to bump up the digits in the latest presidential poll, we have desecrated something very holy.

Cal LeMon of Springfield-based Executive Enrichment Inc. solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting. He can be reached at execenrichment@aol.com.[[In-content Ad]]