If George W. Bush is re-elected as president this year, one of the fundamental tenets that this country was founded on will be threatened and weakened: the separation of church and state.
Bush, an evangelical Christian, has never been shy discussing the role religion, faith and God play in his life. On multiple occasions, Bush has discussed how his faith in God has allowed him to make bold and decisive decisions that may have struck others as myopic and rushed.
In a meeting three months ago, Bush reportedly told a group of Amish farmers in Pennsylvania, “I trust God speaks through me.” In Bob Woodward’s book, “Plan of Attack,” which chronicles the Bush administration’s decision to go to war with Iraq, Bush said, “Going into this period, I was praying for strength to do the Lord’s will … I’m surely not going to justify the war based upon God. Understand that. Nevertheless, in my case, I pray to be as good a messenger of his will as possible.”
It is interesting to note that Bush was not always a devout Christian. Like an inmate who comes to see the light of Christ in prison, Bush reportedly became religious in the 1980’s after realizing he had a substance abuse problem, most notably alcohol. Since then, God has played an integral and inseparable role in his life and as a politician.
During his first four years in office, Bush’s personal faith has played a significant role in determining which social programs receive funding and which do not. Funds geared towards international family-planning efforts that support abortion and domestic contraceptive education have largely declined, replaced by “abstinence-based” sex-education programs and faith-based initiatives.
With regard to our judiciary system, Bush has habitually appointed judges who hold extreme right-wing and Christian views. James Leon Holmes, appointed by Bush as a U.S. District Court Judge, has compared those who support abortion to “Nazis” and believes a woman’s proper role in marriage “is to subordinate herself to her husband” and “place herself under the authority of the man.” Another appointee Charles Pickering supported a constitutional amendment to ban abortion and voted against state funding for family-planned services.
Armed with another four years, Bush may have the opportunity to nominate at least four Supreme Court Justices. Bush, an opponent of abortion unless rape or incest is involved, may very well appoint conservative judges who feel Roe v. Wade is worthy of overturning. His response during the third debate as to whether or not he wanted to see Roe v. Wade overturned was eerily evasive and troubling. A women’s right to choose may face severe threats from conservative, activist judges.
Yet, perhaps the most troubling component of Bush’s intertwining of faith with politics is his belief in his own moral certitude and righteousness. It seems as if Bush is supremely confident in his ability to determine the moral course of action in any given situation. Internal dissention or second-guessing from those within his administration is seemingly ignored and deemed inconvenient. Gut decisions and instincts based on Bush’s “faith” reign supreme.
In a New York Times magazine article published last week, Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy advisor to Ronald Reagan and treasury official for the first President Bush, echoed these sentiments. Bartlett said, “This is why [Bush] dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts. He truly believes he’s on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis … but you can’t run the world on faith.”
As debate, discussion and diverse opinion have been eradicated in the White House, George Bush continues to pursue public policy wearing religious fundamentalism on his sleeve. His individual beliefs and faith have permeated into the public sphere, challenging established programs and legal doctrine while alienating millions of Americans. The re-election of George Bush will destroy what our founding fathers fought so hard against: the proselytization of politics.
Josh Moskowitz ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and journalism.
