Alan Wolfe discusses American religion

On Wednesday, October 29, Alan Wolfe, a member of the faculty of Boston College and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, visited the Holy Cross campus to conduct a presentation on the most recent controversy surrounding American religion. The common fear among current theorists that the U.S. is becoming more akin to a theocracy is evident in the titles of such books as, American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century. These intellectual critiques of religion parallel the manifestos written by Voltaire and Payne when a similar mood took hold of Europe over 200 years ago. Wolfe, however, argued that such theories are widely overblown.

The basis of most of these concerns has developed over the past eight years under the Bush administration. This presidency has been strongly tied to Evangelicalism, said Wolfe; Americans fear the political influence of Evangelicalism in the presidential ticket as well as its ties to the policy and decisions involved in the presidency. Wolfe cited the possibility that George W. Bush felt a call from God in his foreign policy as a disconcerting example of religion in politics that much of the American public moves away from, as was the "language of the Crusades" used by generals in the Pentagon while engaged in responses to 9/11. Many also believe that the falling standards of American education are partially attributed to the mismanaged inclusion of creation ism and intelligent design in the curricula. According to Wolfe, however, the possible creation of a "church-state" in America is not strong.

The tradition of a separation of church and state has been strong in America for centuries, and years of this practice are not going to be easily overturned, asserted Wolfe. In his argument, Wolfe made reference to John Leland, a Baptist minister in Massachusetts and Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s who had a close relationship with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Leland espoused that every man should be allowed to worship as he chooses to, and that the government should operate without interference from the church. This "Lelandism" has been taken over by Evangelicalism over the past 30 years, stated Wolfe, but it appears that we are gradually heading back to Lelandism. 30 years of domination over Lelandism have not advanced Evangelical beliefs in society immensely.

The religious pluralism in America also prevents the creation of an overly-powerful church role in the government, stated Wolfe. It is impossible to establish an official religion at the national level, as the largest percentage of Americans of one church, the Roman Catholic Church, is only 25%. 44% of Americans have also converted. "The diversity of our country allows for tolerance," stated Wolfe. He did say, however, that America still has ground to cover in terms of prejudice against other religions. Wolfe asserted that the Republican party would not nominate former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as presidential candidate because of religious intolerance for his Mormon faith.

A lack of religious antagonism that is widely evident outside of the political realm in the U.S. originates from the attempts of Americans to "live religion." Though Americans largely follow religions based on doctrines, it is important that we do not strictly adhere to them in our day-to-day lives, said Wolfe. The fact that we must sometimes come to unpleasant conclusions concerning differences in religious beliefs is still preserved, however, and the ensuing strife that stems from this is something that Americans will have to try to resolve in the future.