One of my favorite political speeches is John F. Kennedy’s 1960 address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. It was given at a time, not unlike today, when interest in the presidential candidates’ religious beliefs seemed to trump focus on the real issues our nation faced.
The Vietnam War, the spread of communism, poverty and education had all been pushed aside because Kennedy was the first Catholic to seriously contend for the White House. His frustration with the speech’s necessity apparent from the outset, Kennedy spoke not of the theology he believed in, but the
“If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged,” Kennedy concluded. “But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people.”
Kennedy’s message is the subject of “Article VI,” a new documentary by Bryan Hall and Jack Donaldson. (Article VI refers to the constitutional provision that forbids any religious test for public office.)
I saw “Article VI” last night at the Heritage Foundation. I don’t often enjoy venturing into the belly of the right-wing beast, but it wasn’t half-bad this time.
The 90-minute film is a thoughtfully compiled collection of interviews with scholars, religious leaders and ordinary citizens that highlights religious tests for public office and persecution in our nation’s history. It didn’t favor one sect, per se, but the opinions of conservative Christians did dominate.
My major objection is whom the producers chose to represent either side of the debate. On the side that religious tests are good and necessary is Flip Benham, the crazed director of Operation Save America, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore and rabidly anti-Mormon preacher Bill Keller.
Their outrageous rhetoric made Religious Right leaders representing the side that official religious tests are unwise and un-American look moderate.
Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Director Richard Land had a large part in the film and attended last night’s screening. Compared to Benham, Moore, Keller and the gaggle of common theocrats featured in the film, Land almost sounded like he was speaking for Americans United!
The film makers left out the part about how Land thinks theocratic government is okay as long as it’s imposed through the democratic process. They also left out references to the place in
I think the directors made an unfortunate choice in selecting former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed as “senior advisor.” Knowing what we know about Reed, Land and other Religious Right activists affiliated in one way or another with the film explains our initial skepticism about “Article VI.”
After seeing the film last night, I can say that I found it to be mainly what its producers said it was: a thought-provoking project meant to spur public discussion, and hopefully, understanding. Maybe their underlying goal is to clear the political path for Romney, but if it is, that doesn’t come through in the movie.
The film doesn’t tell us why so many Americans continue to reject Kennedy’s counsel, but it certainly holds a mirror to a national vice. Even this year, I don’t think Romney faces this religious test alone. I think the pressure Americans put on candidates for public office to prove their piety is one of the greatest barriers standing between us and an
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution doesn’t legally forbid voters from imposing a religious test on candidates when they step into the voting booth, but its history and spirit should strongly encourage us to forgo such inquiries. Elections should be about a candidate’s commitment to the Constitution and his or her stance on real political issues.
So, decide for yourself if a candidate’s theology matters to you, but understand why our Constitution forbids religious tests for public office.
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