Participants
- Rev. Barry Lynn
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Rev. Barry Lynn
Rev. Barry Lynn is Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to preserving the Constitution's religious liberty provisions. An activist and civil liberties lawyer, he is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Lynn was legislative counsel for the Church Office of Church in Society and for the D.C. office of the American Civil Liberties Union. He has frequently appeared on various television and radio shows, including The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Today, Nightline, 60 Minutes, and NPR's All Things Considered. Lynn was the regular co-host of Pat Buchanan and Company and host of a weekly syndicated radio program, Review of the News, with Oliver North. Author of Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom (Harmony Books 2006), he has had essays published in USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Nation. - Chuck Colson
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Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson is the Founder and Chairman of Prison Fellowship, a Christian non-profit organization that is the world's largest outreach program for prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, and author of the new book The Faith (Zondervan, 2008). As Chief Counsel to President Richard Nixon (1969–1973), he pled guilty to Watergate-related charges in 1974 and served seven months in prison. Colson has written twenty-four books, including How Now Shall We Live (Tyndale House, 1999); The Good Life (Tyndale House, 2005); and his autobiographical book, Born Again (Chosen Books, 1976), which was made into a feature film in 1978. In 1991, he launched a daily radio program, BreakPoint, which provides a Christian worldview on current issues. He has received the Templeton Prize for progress in religion, the Humanitarian Award from Dominos Pizza Corporation, the Others Award from The Salvation Army, and several honorary degrees from colleges and universities. - Jacques Berlinerblau
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Jacques Berlinerblau
Jacques Berlinerblau is Associate Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, where he also directs its Program for Jewish Civilization. His published work has appeared in scholarly and popular publications, including the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Biblical Interpretation, Semeia, History of Religions, Hebrew Studies, Encyclopedia Judaica, The Nation, and The Chronicle Review. He currently writes an online column for the Washington Post devoted to religion and the 2008 election titled "The God Vote." Berlinerblau is the author of numerous books, including Heresy in the University: The Black Athena Controversy and the Responsibilities of American Intellectuals (Rutgers University Press, 1999), The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously (Cambridge University Press, 2005), and Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics (Westminster John Knox, 2008). - Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.
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Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.
Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. is Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C. area, and serves as a regional Bishop in the Fellowship of International Churches. He is also Founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, which empowers churches and community and political leaders to make grassroots efforts on local, state, and national levels. Jackson was named one of the top fifty most influential Christians in 2005 by the Christian Post. His radio commentary, "The Truth in Black and White," airs daily on more than 400 stations nationwide. Jackson has written several books, including High Impact African American Churches (co-authored with George Barna, Regal Books, 2004), which was nominated for the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Gold Medallion Award and received the Silver Medallion Award. He has appeared on many television programs including The Tavis Smiley Show, The 700 Club, and the CBS Evening News. - Evan Thomas
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Evan Thomas
Evan Thomas, Newsweek's Editor at Large since 2006, is the magazine's lead writer on major news stories and the author of many longer features including special behind-the-scenes issues on presidential elections and more than 100 cover stories. He has been a regular weekly panelist on the syndicated public affairs talk show Inside Washington since 1992, and has appeared on numerous television shows including Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Thomas is the author of six books, including Sea of Thunder (Simon & Schuster, 2006), Robert Kennedy: His Life (Simon & Schuster, 2000), and The Very Best Men: The Early Years on the CIA (Simon & Schuster, 1995). A fellow of the Society of American Historians and a former trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, he began a five-year term at Princeton as Ferris Professor of Journalism in the fall of 2007.
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VIDEOS
Introduction of Debaters(02:32)
Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, Director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs, describes the National Discussion and Debate Series and introduces moderator Evan Thomas, Editor at Large of Newsweek magazine. Thomas introduces the four participants in the third debate in the Miller Center’s National Discussion and Debate Series. The event, held at the historic Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia on March 6, 2008, examined what is the proper role of religion in politics and government. Arguing for the debate resolution were Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Jacques Berlinerblau, Associate Professor and Director of the Program for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Arguing against were Chuck Colson, Founder and Chairman of Prison Fellowship, and Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church. Background Video(03:51)
This four-minute video, produced by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions, provides background information for the debate, surveying both the historical and recent impact of religion on politics and government.
Rev. Barry Lynn: Opening Remarks(04:14)
Rev. Lynn opened the debate by saying that "mixing religion with politics is unhealthy; mixing religion with government is unconstitutional.” The current presidential primary contest has been saturated with religion. However, the only question regarding religion that is important in a campaign is whether or not your personal religious beliefs will trump your constitutional duties. Religion is also damaged when mixed with politics. He does not suggest that America’s laws or judicial rulings should be value-free, but they should be based on commonly shared values as found in the Constitution, not in religious scripture. Chuck Colson: Opening Remarks(04:13)
Mr. Colson says the seven months he served in prison opened his eyes to the corruption of the American prison system and he has since dedicated his life to bring justice to this system. Americans should always seek justice for their fellow citizens, but where, he asks, is the justice and decency in a society where religion cannot influence for the betterment of human beings? Christians have done this in civil society since the time of Christ and it is the Christian obligation to continue to seek justice. It is almost self-refuting to say that religion should have no place in politics or government because human beings are irresistibly religious and political. The two cannot be compartmentalized. Jacques Berlinerblau: Opening Remarks(04:01)
Professor Berlinerblau begins by citing a series of statistics that show the majority of Americans have rejected secularism. Secularists have long won their battles in the courts, which have acted as a “home field” for their cause, but to prevail secularists must win in the court of public opinion. He cites three reasons to adopt the debate resolution: 1) Mixing religion with politics and government will grant an unfair advantage to one religion, or even one denomination. 2) Keeping religion out of politics and government is a boon for religion because it keeps different faiths and denominations off one another’s backs. 3) The idea of segregating religion and politics lies at the very heart of Christian writing. Bishop Harry Jackson: Opening Remarks(04:03)
Bishop Jackson says that whether you’re a politician or a layman, your faith is going to enter into our decisions. But many Americans today feel that the Church has overstepped its bounds, so the Church must define what is its proper corporate role. Individual Christianity is at the heart of who this nation is and individuals must bring their faith to wherever they are as an act of service. He mentions how religion impacted the politics of William Wilbur, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. As an African-American, Bishop Jackson says that he would not be able to speak tonight if religiously-motivated people had not acted against immoral laws.
Pro Team Rebuttal: Rev. Lynn(05:35)
Rev. Lynn counters Mr. Colson’s opening statement by saying many non-Christians seek justice and that what Mr. Colson seems to be asserting is that unless we gird ourselves in a religious worldview we cannot bring justice, and this is wrong. The court case filed by Rev. Lynn’s organization against Prison Fellowship (Mr. Colson’s organization) in Iowa has shown that the courts agree these activities should not be subsidized by tax dollar. Activities that seek justice must come from shared, civil values. Mr. Colson responds by saying that PF did not lose the Iowa case, only the state funding which it didn’t want anyway. He cites the program’s success—8% recidivism rate in Iowa, compared to 67% nationally—and notes that these programs are voluntary and have no religious test. He says he believes in a separation of church and state, and that government should stay out of the business of the church. But the public has a right as Christian citizens to make their views known.
Why is religion in politics so important today?(05:22)
Berlinerblau says the simple answer is the resurgence of the Christian Right post-Roe v. Wade. This very well organized, astonishingly dynamic and industrious Christian evangelicalism has created something rather new. There is an organized mass constituency that wants to reassert values into society. Jackson counters that the Christian Right is not as organized as he thinks, and that the real key to organization is shared values, not good leadership. Lynn says he shares much of Jackson’s faith, but what scares him is how the Christian Right wants to control every minute of life from conception to death, and everything in between. Religious freedom of conscience is not allowed by the Christian Right unless one shares their reading of Scripture. Jackson says the Biblical anchor to questions of life is very clear. Colson adds that Christians don’t want to control life from conception to death, but they want to give people the right to live from conception to death. Lynn concludes by saying the Bible doesn’t mention abortion and has a varying set of principles about when life can be taken. He does not say Christians cannot talk about policy, but policymakers must use secular reasons to justify their policies. What is the Biblical anchor to Christians' policy beliefs?(04:34)
Berlinerblau challenges Bishop Jackson to identify the common scripture that Protestants and Catholics can agree upon as the anchor to their policy preferences. Jackson responds that he is simply trying to promote a set of Christian values and that those who agree should be able to join in pursuing these shared values. This is democracy in action. Berlinerblau asks about the non-believers in society. Jackson says that all laws are based on some form of morality; Colson adds that Genesis 1 is the fundamental basis for our system of justice, and Jews, Muslims and Christians agree on that. Lynn retorts that most religious advocates use Scripture, not natural law, to argue their case and this is wrong in a free democratic society. Should religious leaders endorse candidates?(01:04)
Jackson says it is unhealthy for a pastor to tell people how to vote in an election—this can create disunity within the faith community. But it is the pastor’s responsibility to advocate for a society that is in line with the tenets of that faith and hope that he or she creates a congregation that votes by conscience on these issues. What about vouchers for parochial schools?(03:05)
Berlinerblau says he understands the pain of a poor family that cannot afford to get their children out of a failing school, but that on the whole vouchers do more damage by taking needed funds from the public school system. Lynn adds that research on voucher programs everywhere have shown that they dimply do not work. It is more important to make sure all kids have a quality public education, even if it means spending more money. Colson responds that voucher programs have in fact worked in America. How will religion impact the 2008 election?(02:25)
Jackson says faith will be the spoiler in the 2008 presidential election and will determin who does not get elected. Candidates need to be explicit about what values and worldview will inform their judgments. Lynn counters that religion has already had a negative impact on the election, and says Jackson’s contention that voters should consider the “faith and testimony” of candidates flies in the face of what this country is all about. The kinds of questions currently being asked in presidential debates, we are on a dangerous road toward a theocracy. Would Jefferson think we're heading toward theocracy?(03:52)
Berlinerblau says he does not know how Jefferson would respond, but he questions the relevance anyway. He argues against “constitutional fundamentalism” and says that the Constitution, and also the Bible, are living and breathing documents that change over time. There is a clear apolitical strand in Christian scripture and he wonders why evangelicals don’t harken back to that time. Colson responds that Christians have been acting in politics and civil society since the days of Christ. He returns to the 2008 election and makes the point that the most overtly religious candidates left are the Democrats, Clinton and Obama, not McCain. This shows Christians have a broad presence in the American political spectrum. Lynn argues that the Religious Right is not at all dead and it is dangerous to think this because they are still very strong.
Bishop Jackson: Closing Argument(01:53)
Jackson closes by saying America is living in a time when the role and diversity of faith is growing, and he is thankful that people’s faith is being lived out. Without the involvement of faith in the political process, African-Americans would still be enslaved—faith has changed our laws, our land, and our community. It is therefore necessary that it remain a part of politics and we must resist calls to restrict it just because some choose to misuse their faith for partisan purposes. What is needed instead is more engagement, discussion and practical observation about how faith can be lived out in civil society. Jacques Berlinerblau: Closing Argument(02:14)
Berlinerblau concludes the debate by stating he does not wish to demonize anyone on the Religious Right. Part of the problem with the debate over religion in politics is that it is such a combustible topic. There is nothing wrong with organized evangelicalism; what they have done in organizing is in fact the American way. However, this group has many fundamental problems, including the inability to deal with religious pluralism. Berlinerblau makes a greater appeal for more conversation and more civility on this topic, and asks evangelicals to acknowledge the glorious pluralism that is at the heart of America.
Is religion appropriate in the presidential race?(00:19)
It is appropriate because it is a strong part of who each candidate is and will impact his or her decisions. If the belief is so strong, I hope it would be a factor in their policy decisions. Is religion appropriate in political campaigns?(00:57)
I don't think it's appropriate, but politicians often cater to certain voting groups by invoking religion. There should be a firm separation between church and state because the American people have a diverse set of religious beliefs and politicians should not impose their beliefs on everyone. Should religious leaders endorse candidates for office?(00:41)
Religious leaders have a right to promote their own set of values, but when religious leaders start telling their congregations who to vote for this crosses a line. Catholic bishops crossed a line in 2004 when they said they wouldn't give communion to John Kerry.
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