by William O\u2019Brien
Huffington Post<\/p>\n
Once again, the U.S. presidential election process is marked by the peculiar American interplay of religion and politics. As in the past several campaigns, conservative Christians are a prize voting bloc: Since the beginning of the campaign, we have witnessed the various Republican candidates vigorously vying for their votes, plying their respective pieties and accentuating their evangelical credentials.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the religious vote is highly prized despite the fact that the usual social issues that are the evangelicals\u2019 bread and butter \u2014 abortion, traditional marriage \u2014 are taking a decidedly backseat to urgent economic issues during these trying times of prolonged recession. (Though the current bizarre controversy over birth control may be shifting the terrain a bit.) That hardly means that those on the religious right aren\u2019t raising their voices. A subtext in much of the political discourse seems to be a kind of \u201cbiblical economics.\u201d Conservative Christians are among the most fervent defenders of the free market, which they see as divinely mandated; they are likewise among the most vituperative opponents of any socialist redistribute-the-wealth schemes, which, one might infer from their criticisms, are nothing short of satanic.<\/p>\n
President Obama himself stoked the flames of controversy a few weeks back at the National Prayer Breakfast, when he underscored a biblical basis for his policies, including his suggestion that raising taxes on the most affluent Americans \u201ccoincides with Jesus\u2019s teaching that \u2018for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.'\u201d Not surprisingly, his words raised the theological and political ire of many Christian leaders. Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition called the President\u2019s connection of his tax policy to Jesus\u2019s teachings \u201ctheologically threadbare and straining credulity.\u201d Columnist Cal Thomas suggested it was Marxist, not biblical. \u201cAbuse and mangling of Scripture\u201d were common critiques from Obama\u2019s religiously minded antagonists.<\/p>\n