Yesterday was the first White House meeting of the president's revamped Office of Faith-Based Initiatives.
Needless to say, I was not happy when news broke, six months ago, that Obama would be retaining -- and even expanding -- this Bush-created office. But, to the administration's credit, the meeting (led by office director Joshua DuBois) centered not on promoting Judeo-Christian blah blah blah but on respecting the wall between church and state. They discussed funding restrictions for religious groups, establishing programs which equally benefit Americans of any faith or no faith, and how to handle 501(c)(3) groups founded by religious organizations to avoid separation issues.
Obviously, it would be better if the White House didn't have a religion office. (Obviously, it would be better if the world didn't have religion.) But if we're going to have one, I like the idea that it's being managed by people who seem to understand and respect the clear desire of the founding framers to keep religious morality as far away as possible from the business of government. On the separation of church and state, the administration has done some wonderful and groundbreaking things.
First of all, great kudos to the president for still not having selected a church to attend. Let's hope he never does. Perhaps he's decided not to decide. Maybe he'll keep saying he's looking for one, just to pacify those who are wondering, while privately electing to raise his family outside the dark shadow of superstition and mythology.
Today in Rome, Obama will meet with the Pope, and can be expected to avoid issues of potential conflict (like whether women have the right to make their own medical decisions, and whether it's okay for two people of the same gender to love each other). He will also probably refrain from alluding to the Pope's Boy Scout experience in the Hitler Youth, or the Catholic church's system of institutionalized child molestation. But my guess is that he won't kiss quite as much papal ass as his predecessors.
In April, the White House required Georgetown University to cover up a Jesus symbol which would have been visible behind Obama during his economic speech. In May, Obama declined to hold a public White House event marking the National Day of Prayer. These were important symbolic announcements: This president, unlike his predecessor, is not a theocrat. In his speeches, he has regularly included atheists and agnostics in his descriptions of America's religious (and anti-religious) diversity. In Dreams From My Father, he talks a lot more about his skepticism than his faith, and as Bill Maher likes to point out, "when he talks about his mother, he always says, 'She was a secular humanist,' and there's a little wink in his eye, because a secular humanist is someone who puts their faith in ethics and rationality, and not magical thinking."
And now there's a new one. Something called the Treasure Valley God and Country Festival, an annual event for Christian fanatics in Idaho, has been enjoying Air Force flyovers for more than four decades -- but this year, for the first time, a presidential administration said no. Of course, the Christian right is, well, up in arms about this, and Bill O'Reilly's mad too. It's a huge development, especially considering the fact that the Air Force is one of America's most egregious bastions of Christian extremism.
The people responsible for the Treasure Valley God and Country Festival (try to say it aloud without laughing) hit the ceiling, issuing a hysterical press release about how this is "a slap in the face to all those who proudly serve our country." Actually, folks, it would be a slap in the face to those who proudly serve our country to allow you to continue to violate the secular ideal on which it was founded. Idaho Lieutenant Governor Brad Little issued a statement decrying the Pentagon's stance as "political correctness run amok" (because the last thing these people want to be is correct), and claimed that the God and Country Festival was a "non-denominational event." I love how they manage to describe a non-denominational Christian event as though it were totally inclusive.
And here's how the "non-denominational" Festival describes itself on its own website, under the headline "The Mission of the God and Country Festival":
Our mission is primarily about spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. We believe this Festival, started in 1967, is an incredible tool to share the Good News by strengthening the fabric of our society through connection to family and country.
We want to encourage believers everywhere to get out in their communities, not just to strengthen each other, but to encourage family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to learn more about who Jesus Christ is and what He's done for each and every one of us...
In order to witness to people, you have to do the following: Bless people, Fellowship with them, Meet their needs, Present the Truth.
This, in a nutshell, is what the Treasure Valley God and Country Festival attempts to do.
Uh, thanks, guys. No flyovers for you. Next?