Religion is the problem,” said a friend at a late summer barbecue. “If we could keep religion out of politics, things would be a lot less crazy.” Heads nodded. Being the only active churchgoer in the room, I tried to protest—but then had to admit that my faith often steers my vote, as if that was some kind of civic failure. At the same time I found it odd that no one thought money or partisanship was the problem in our stumbling political system.
The conversation came on the heels of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “The Response,” which gathered 30,000 at a revival-style rally just prior to his announcement as a Republican presidential candidate. Minnesota Congressional Rep. Michele Bachmann, a darling of the Tea Party, was speaking openly of feeling called by God to run for the presidency. Neither connected their faith to specific policy positions. Their public devotion to Christ as evangelical Christians was their political calling card.
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