With just a few weeks left until the first votes are cast in the 2012 presidential election, Interfaith Alliance has had its hands full working to make sure candidates don’t misuse religion as a political weapon this campaign season. Unfortunately – and perhaps unsurprisingly – given recent history, religion has been frequently thrown around this cycle in attempts to win votes.
In addition to sending letters to each of the candidates challenging them to earn votes without using God-talk, we’ve taken to the media to call out candidates for misusing religion in campaign rhetoric. We heard former candidate Herman Cain say Muslims would not be welcome in his presidential cabinet and that communities should be able to block the building of mosques. Newt Gingrich compared American Muslims to the Nazis. And Rick Perry cited his faith as a reason to vote for him and asserted his opposition to the non-existent “war on religion” being waged by President Obama.
To get a perspective of what’s happening on the ground, Rev. Gaddy was in Iowa earlier this month, where he hosted a special edition of State of Belief Radio dedicated to the rapidly approaching caucuses. He interviewed Connie Ryan Terrell, Executive Director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa; Drake University Political Science Professor Dennis J. Goldford, who literally wrote the book on the caucus process; and the Rev. Dr. Rich Pleva, conference minister for the Iowa Conference of the United Church of Christ.
The frequent presence of religion on the campaign trail is as harmful to democracy as it is to religion. That’s why, as we have done for many years through our election year guides, Interfaith Alliance is providing voters, candidates and houses of worship guidance on how to appropriately engage with each other during the election season. Each guide has been carefully developed and refined over several election cycles, with the help of activists, experts in election and tax law and, in the case of the candidate and house of worship guides, the IRS.
The Engaging Candidates guide suggests a series of questions for voters to ask candidates about their views on the intersection of religion and government. Questions include: “What role will your faith or values play in creating public policy or making appointments?” and “How will you balance the principles of your faith and your obligation to defend the Constitution, particularly if the two come into conflict?”
A Guide for Houses of Worship provides very specific guidance to houses of worship on what they legally can and cannot do during an election, for instance: Did you know that houses of worship can invite candidates to a debate for its members as long it does not favor one candidate over another in structure or in any other way? On the other hand, a house of worship cannot ask a candidate to pledge support for its religious denomination’s position on an issue or publicize a candidate’s independent decision to support or oppose the denomination’s position.
A Guide for Political Candidates offers important advice to candidates on how to discuss appropriately their beliefs and engage with religious communities during a campaign without stepping over the line or endangering a house of worship’s tax-exempt status. Interfaith Alliance advises that candidates speak about their own beliefs rather than those held by their opponents, refrain from claiming to speak for any particular faith and respect IRS guidelines and the institution’s integrity when speaking at any house of worship.
While it is important that organizations like Interfaith Alliance continue to serve as watchdogs to protect the integrity of both religion and democracy during the campaign season, it is equally important that we educate candidates, clergy and voters to ensure that religion plays an appropriate role that allows candidates to take respectfully about their faith without using it as a political weapon.