Are Democrats Friendly to Faith?

 There are times when I think to myself, “I can understand

why someone would join the Christian Right.”

 There are times when I think to myself, “I can understand
why someone would join the Christian Right.” I walked into an on-campus
bookstore the other day, and saw a prominent display of Oxford evolutionary biologist Richard
Dawkin’s best-seller, “The God Delusion.” This morning, I read a New York
Times article on this very topic, with a quote from Sam Harris, author of
“A Letter to a Christian Nation” who said that scientists should not shy away
from questioning people’s deeply felt beliefs because religion, with has no
rational basis, can delude people into performing actions with tragic
circumstances. “I don’t know how many more engineers and architects need to fly
planes into our buildings before we realize that this is not merely a matter of
lack of education or economic despair,” he said. With influential academics
touting the idea that religion is “at best mistaken and at worst dangerous,” it
is no surprise that my friends, many of them Democrats, are not only suspicious,
but distrustful of religion.

As a Christian living on a secular campus, it’s sometimes
tough to own up to the fact that yes, I do believe in God, and no, I cannot
prove it, when surrounded by bright minds that thrive on intellectual debates.
Rather than argue that faith is in fact reconcilable with intellect, I
sometimes find myself thinking that it would just be easier to retreat into a
Christian haven where I don’t have to explain myself all the time, where I can
just be left alone by these atheist intellectuals who look down upon those
people who just take things on faith.

I ultimately cannot deny that my faith compels me to act on
behalf of social justice and for that reason to support Democrats. But I worry
that I am not alone in feeling suspicion and criticism from non-Christians, and
at times, feeling that I want to be surrounded by peers who support, rather
than look down upon, my adherence to faith.

The Republican Party is, unfortunately for the Democrats,
one place that does a fantastic job at welcoming Christians, and supporting
their call to faith. They have elected countless candidates who speak the
language of Gospel, have conducted extensive church outreaches, and have galvanized
Christians behind policies designed to combat the scientific challenge to faith
– such as teaching Intelligent Design in public schools, in lieu of evolution.

While I do not support teaching religious ideas in public schools,
I can understand the gut-reaction that might compel my Christian brothers and
sisters to support these policies. Our most heartfelt beliefs are being
challenged, questioned, openly debated, and worst of all, derided in popular
culture and in the Ivy
Tower. My hope is that the Democratic Party can find a way to not only tolerate, but to welcome Christians,
despite the fact that they do not openly support these policies that would
counter the attacks on religion.