Thirty years ago, America was in the midst of a Presidential campaign that pitted a popular Ronald Reagan against challenger Walter Mondale. Among the many issues contested, religion surprisingly surfaced when Geraldine Ferraro - a pro-choice Roman Catholic - was selected as the Vice Presidential nominee. To address the criticism levied upon his friend, Mario Cuomo delivered a memorable speech on September 13th, 1984 that has endured as a liberal blueprint on matters of faith.
Now, the 1984 election did not signify the first instance whereby a politician's religious beliefs were questioned or criticized. John F. Kennedy had to avail himself of false characterizations in 1960. He delivered an address to a congregation of southern Protestant leaders, insisting on his ability to preside over the nation with no Catholic interference. By emphasizing the separation of church and state, he declared himself not the Catholic candidate but the Democratic Party's candidate for the Presidency. While effective in displacing the religious issue at the time, Kennedy evaded any substantive discussion on religion's place within the political sphere.
Mario Cuomo's address sought to remedy this problem but it did not sing of his typical campaign rhetoric. It certainly did not resemble his more famous 1984 Democratic National Convention speech, where he put forth a searing indictment of Reagan-era social and economic policy.
With the University of Notre Dame as the backdrop, Cuomo delivered the speech with his usual flare and the erudition of a college professor. His reflection of religion's relationship with government spoke to the masses but was derived from deeply personal experiences.
"As Catholics, my wife and I were enjoined never to use abortion to destroy the life we created, and we never have ... But not everyone in our society agrees with me." Cuomo made the clear distinction between his own beliefs and his role as a politician. "As a Governor, however, I am involved in defining policies that determine other people's rights in these same areas of life and death." Here, he fits his own theology into the broader American experience, hoping to demonstrate how all beliefs coexist within a pluralistic democracy.
Because Cuomo's name did not appear on the ballot, he was granted more latitude, whereas Farraro was required to force issues into the rigid structure of a presidential campaign.
Despite Cuomo's best efforts, Reagan won the 1984 election in a landslide. Yet, the legacy of this speech has persisted. The conservative religious revival of the late 1980s and early 1990s intensified the need to confront religious issues and was further reinforced by the ascendency of George W. Bush. Throughout this period, Mario Cuomo's speech provided the outline for many politicians attempting to discuss issues of faith.
John Kerry was the subject of scrutiny for his own views on abortion but largely ignored the debate throughout his 2004 campaign. Only after his defeat did Kerry feel the need to publicly examine his religion, drawing on experiences that tested his faith in Vietnam.
Barack Obama's 2006 speech entitled A Call to Renewal strikes a more analogous tone to that of Cuomo's. Encapsulated in the 1984 speech was the belief that the, "values derived from religious belief will not - and should not - be accepted as part of the public morality unless they are shared by the pluralistic community at large, by consensus." Similarly, Obama calls upon Americans to, "translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values." Obama even found himself in an ironically similar predicament to Cuomo's, delivering a religiously defensive speech at the 2009 University of Notre Dame Commencement, after his invitation was criticized by some Catholic organizations.
Shades of Cuomo even found their way into a speech from Mitt Romney, who felt obliged to defend his Mormon faith in 2008: "It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions."
Thirty years after this speech, its eloquence has not been forgotten. While criticized by some who believe it absolves the politician of moral responsibility in making difficult choices, everyone can agree that it furthered the religious debate in American politics. While many scholars and analysts draw parallels to Kennedy's 1960 speech, modern religious rhetoric can more appropriately be attributed to Cuomo. It changed the trajectory of religious discourse and brought difficult questions of faith to the forefront of the political process.