By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
E pluribus unum: That’s Latin for Out of many, one. It was the U.S. national motto until 1956,
when it was replaced by In God we trust. In the wake of the November election, we need
to ask ourselves, are we still a nation committed to being out of many, one, or are we just a nation of many? And in a pluralistic democracy,
what does it mean to trust in God?
The
U.S. is a religious nation. Most
Americans claim to be Christians, and Christianity, like Islam, has resisted
reconciliation with other religions. Each
claims to be the one true faith to attract members, and the worldly power of
each religion is based on the number of its members.
In
an increasingly pluralistic world, such religious exclusivism causes hate and
violence; and in democracies where fundamental human rights are necessary to
protect minorities from the tyranny of a religious majority, religion can be an
obstacle to human rights and justice.
For
religions to be compatible with democracy, human rights and justice in
pluralistic nations, they must promote a politics of reconciliation. This has not happened where Christians and
Muslims have been a majority, and the jury is out on Jews in Israel.
Second
generation evangelical Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Franklin
Graham mobilized their followers to elect Donald Trump to be their President,
and Trump’s national security advisor has referred to Muslims as “evil people.” In Islamic nations Muslims continue to deny
the fundamental freedoms of religion and speech with apostasy and blasphemy
laws. And in Israel, democracy is
jeopardized by continuing violence with Palestinians, who may soon become a
majority.
The
will of God is to reconcile and redeem all humanity as one in spirit, while the
will of Satan is to divide and conquer.
But in the great cosmic battle between good and evil, Satan does a
convincing imitation of God, and does his best work in the church, mosque and
in politics.
Radical
right movements are casting a dark shadow over the world. They are supported by religious zealots who
have mistaken Satan’s hate and divisive powers for the powers of God. They represent a dire challenge for both our
religion and politics.
Religions
function as moral buffers to popular demagogues who seek to undermine civil
liberties in democracies. Fareed Zakaria
cited Alexis de Tocqueville in noting that religious groups can be a buffer
against authoritarianism by “weakening the moral empire of the majority” and
protecting minorities against a tyranny of the majority. But it should be noted that de Tocqueville
saw religion as both a polarizing and reconciling force in Democracy in
America.
There
is hope that Judaism, Christianity and Islam can mitigate against religious
polarization and promote a politics of reconciliation in America and around the
world. The
greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves—including
those of other races and religions—is a
common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. That love command provides a theological
foundation for a politics of reconciliation.
Kathleen
Parker got it right when she said it’s hard to think about a Happy New Year
after Trump has released a malevolent
spirit upon the land; and its especially hard for Christians since
evangelical Christians made Trump’s election possible. Even so, let’s make e pluribus unum a New Year’s resolution in both our faith and our
politics. We need to resist the divisive
power of hate and violence with a politics of reconciliation, but never concede
to the evil forces that seek to divide and conquer us.
Notes:
Fareed Zakaria has noted that democracy
in America and around the world is being corrupted by forces that oppose
liberty in law. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/america-is-becoming-a-land-of-less-liberty/2016/12/29/2a91744c-ce09-11e6-a747-d03044780a02_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
In his tour of America in 1834, Alexis
de Tocqueville observed that religion is a two-edged sword in democracy: While Christians “readily espouse the cause
of human liberty as the source of all moral greatness,” and “will not refuse to
acknowledge that all citizens are equal in the eye of the law, …religion is
entangled in those institutions that democracy assails, and is not infrequently
brought to reject the equality it loves and to curse that cause of liberty as a
foe.” De Tocqueville noted that secular
citizens are skeptical of religion in politics but know “that liberty cannot be
established without morality, nor morality without faith.” See De Tocqueville, Democracy in America,
The Cooperative Publication Society and the Colonial Press, 1900, p 12.
On Kathleen Parker’s commentary
on Trump has released a malevolent spirit
upon the land, Happy New Year!, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-released-a-malevolent-spirit-upon-the-land-happy-new-year/2016/12/27/f6aa37b2-cc6a-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
On the rise of the malevolent
spirit of populist demagoguery in Hungary and around the world, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/i-watched-a-populist-leader-rise-in-my-country-and-that-is-why-i-am-genuinely-worried-for-america/2016/12/27/6b4cf632-cc65-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1.
On Trump’s coming war with Islam, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-coming-war-against-islam/2016/12/11/edf3241c-bd60-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1.
On irreconcilable differences on
matters of faith and politics, see Franklin Graham’s assertion that God assured
the election of Donald Trump at http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article121729539.html.
On the greatest commandment as a
common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims, see http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/2015/01/jesus-meets-muhammad-is-there-common.html.
On religion and human rights, see http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/2015/02/religion-and-human-rights.html.
On a fundamental problem with religion, see http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/2015/05/a-fundamental-problem-with-religion.html.
On the need for a politics of reconciliation in a polarized democracy,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/10/the-need-for-politics-of-reconciliation.html.
On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values,
see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation.html.
On irreconcilable differences and the demise of democracy, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/irreconcilable-differences-and-demise.html.
On religion and reconciliation following an apocalyptic election, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-reconciliation-after.html.
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