Article Added On: February 05, 2005 - over 3 years ago
Title: Senator Clinton gives nod to political power of faith-based groups
Author: BETH GORHAM
Publication: CBC News/CP
Publication Date: January 01, 2005 - over 3 years ago
Faith Groups: Other
Themes: religion in politics

Abstract: The religious right in the United States is getting proof of their political influence from a surprising source, Hillary Clinton. Long associated with liberal causes like abortion rights, the Democratic New York senator has been talking lately about God, faith and bridging the gap with conservatives.

February 5, 2005

WASHINGTON (CP) - The religious right in the United States is getting proof of their political influence from a surprising source, Hillary Clinton.

Long associated with liberal causes like abortion rights, the Democratic New York senator has been talking lately about God, faith and bridging the gap with conservatives.

And while they haven't reacted well to her overtures, Clinton, widely touted as a presidential candidate in 2008, has acknowledged a basic reality - the powerful role evangelicals and other conservative faith-based groups played in the last election.

Now, after working hard to help re-elect George W. Bush - fundamentalists comprise about 25 per cent of the adult population and accounted for about 40 per cent of the president's votes - they're claiming their due, pushing their causes with renewed vigour and expecting results.

Major evangelical groups like Focus on the Family credit the same-sex marriage issue for galvanizing conservative voters and putting Bush over the top, especially in 11 states where initiatives to ban it were on the ballot.

"They do feel empowered and that leads them to want to expand their influence as much as possible," says John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron in Ohio.

"Now they feel that they can push harder and they want to get as good a deal as they can. The Bush administration needs to give them enough to keep them happy but (it) can't give them too much. They're not a majority."

There was broad appeal for Christian groups in Bush's state of the union speech Wednesday, where he took pains to talk about outlawing gay unions and limiting the use of human embryos in medical research.

It was a timely appeal to an important part of his base. Christian groups threatened last month to withhold support for Bush's prized social security changes after he appeared somewhat less than adamant about leading a new charge to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages.

Overturning the 1973 Roe vs. Wade abortion rights decision is also at the top of religious right wish lists.

Abortion opponents, taking comfort from Bush's stated goal of fostering a "culture of life," are hoping he can fill enough Supreme Court vacancies with conservatives during the next four years to make abortion illegal again.

Meanwhile, two abortion measures now appear to have a realistic chance in Congress. One would make it illegal for anyone but a parent to take a minor across state lines for an abortion and another requires doctors to inform patients seeking a later-term abortion that the fetus might feel pain.

Religious groups are also looking for tough control over indecency on the airwaves under a new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

On the local level, there's a persistent drive to teach creationism in schools or at least portray evolution as just one of several theories. Some teachers report simply ignoring evolution so they don't get in trouble with their principals and superintendents.

Researchers say there's local opposition to scientific curricula on issues like the age of the Earth and origin of the universe.

Fundamentalists also support teaching students about abstinence instead of birth control to prevent teen pregnancies.

"There's a lot of pressure on local school boards to modify curriculum," says Green. "The influence of religious conservatives comes from the grassroots," affecting the choice of state judges, country commissioners and school board officials.

"They are probably pushing harder locally and getting more results."

There's even a new state law in Florida that requires more than 150,000 American flags to be replaced in public schools because they're smaller than new ones that are specified.

Still, says Green, fundamentalists know that having success locally doesn't mean anything if an issue is ultimately headed for a Supreme Court without a conservative tilt.

Top evangelicals like James Dobson at Focus on the Family have named activist judges as their top problem, and Bush's picks for any Supreme Court vacancies will affect the course of U.S. society for decades.

Meanwhile there's evidence the Bush administration, even TV networks, are aware of the need to recognize the views of fundamentalists.

New Education Secretary Margaret Spelling was recently applauded by major religious groups for objecting to an episode of the PBS program Postcards from Buster because the cartoon bunny was visiting a real-life lesbian couple in Vermont.

And the Fox network covered up the naked rear end of a cartoon character that was allowed years ago after fears the Federal Communications Commission would find it objectionable.

The Education Department and other agencies have gone out of their way to talk about the role of faith in public life and the rights of parents and conservative groups.

"That's quite different than implementing a policy," says Green. "Some of these symbolic gestures may be very calculated so they don't have to do anything substantial."

While evangelicals enjoy their status as a political force, the surge of the religious right has made some Americans increasingly uncomfortable.

Tim Vining, 41, executive director of the Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburg, a peace and justice organization, says it's one of the main reasons he's moving to Toronto in a few months.

"It's not just the amount of religious fundamentalism here," says Vining, who grew up in the Bible belt of southern Louisiana and was once a Franciscan brother.

"It's how it's been sanctioned and exploited by the White House. I wish I could believe it was just a fad, but the rhetoric is pretty rooted right now. They feel they have a public forum."

Vining's partner, Stephen Donahue, 49, is especially worried about going through the rigours of the gay marriage debate.

"It will be tense and I'm sure it will get mean, perhaps even violent," says Donahue, who got hate mail and death threats following his activism against the Iraq war.

"I don't want to go through that again."

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