Religion and Society: Bill O’Reilly, Pat Robertson and religion in America

Osama bin O’Reilly

Anyone recently tuning into the Daily Show knows that Jon Stewart is having a lot of fun at the expense of Bill O’Reilly and others who insist that there is a “war” against Christmas in America. O’Reilly takes the argument one step further and argues that the war against Christmas is part of a larger culture war taking place in America pitting the liberal secular left against those that reaffirm America’s Judeo-Christian heritage. (It actually was just a Christian heritage until about 100 years ago.)

He has a point.

While Christmas may not necessarily be in danger, advocates of religion in public life are asserting their right to argue on the basis of religion, revelation and scripture. The flash points for this culture war are becoming more numerous by the day. Thirty years ago abortion was the primary issue. Now throw in gay marriage, prayer in school, intelligent design and all of a sudden the name of the spruce erected on the White House lawn makes headlines. Is America in danger of losing its Judeo Christian heritage?

It is actually a question that is both American and at the same time anti-American. The history of the United States is to a large extent influence by Protestant Christianity. That is until now. As Sam Huntington argued in his most recent controversial book, America must fight to keep its Protestant heritage intact, or risk the possibility of compromising its identity as a nation. Huntington cautions that basing national unity on an ideal, in this case the secular ideal of liberal democracy, is a recipe for disaster. For Huntington, it is the religious, social and cultural bonds that tie nations together, which in this case the Protestant Christian American heritage.

At the same time, neither the Bible nor any other religious scripture was ever recognized as a source of law. This was never a problem for most Christians in America because secular law was always in step with general religious norms of Christianity. For the vast majority of its history, America has been a deeply conservative Christian country � and this was always reflected in government and society.

Oh, how times have changed. What is a conservative Christian to do when their elected officials decide that gay marriage is legal under the constitution? If you put yourself in the shoes of an average church going Christian, you have been betrayed by the democratic process. And how do you “influence” democracy back into your favor? Taking a page from the Islamist handbook, the Christian right are trying to introduce democracy to religion.

Enter Pat Robertson, who recently began competing with President Ahmedenijad of Iran for the most offensive public statement award. His comments regarding Ariel Sharon’s ill health were directed right at the American people. Not only did he argue that God smote Sharon for giving away His land to the Palestinians, he also stated that doing so to gain the favor of anyone, including the United States, was an offense against God. Robertson may come across as an old fool, but his statement was carefully articulated and deeply reflects the agenda of the religious right in this country. He, and other like him, are manipulating the religious awakening in America to appropriate public policy from secular policy makers into the realm of Sunday morning preachers.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Including religion in public discussion is not something of which anyone should be afraid. As Noah Feldman argues, it could be a source of dynamic debate. But the problem is the secular left is so ideologically biased against religion and its place in the public square that they are incapable of engaging the religious right in a way that could win the average Church going American over. Americans have been and always will be a religious people. But that does not mean they are a fundamentalist people. As is the case in Islam, moderate voices will win out, but only when they are heard over the extremist rhetoric. Until this takes place, people like Robertson will continue to hold sway over many Americans because he speaks to a spiritual void that secular culture is incapable of filling. If Americans want to be religious, let them be religious. But at the very least provide a decent alternative to Pat Robertson.

Firas Ahmad is Senior Editor of Islamica Magazine.