These days, it's hard to say “Merry Christmas” without thinking of the weight of nearly 30 years of culture wars piled on top of that word.
Christmas has become a political hot topic ever since Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly made his disgraceful comments public. “Christmas War” It goes back to the early 2000s. This trend went into grievance hyperdrive with the advent of Donald Trump and the ever-victimizing MAGA movement. Over the decades, what was once a non-controversial holiday has become just a little bit more politicized.
Malicious Republicans like Mr. O'Reilly and Mr. Trump have been greatly helped by the Democratic Party's long-standing distance from and discomfort with modern Christianity. But something interesting is happening now. Following the Democratic Party's election loss last month, some of the party's Christian leaders are calling for a rethink of the policy. How do Democrats talk about faith issues?who long ago capitulated to the Republican Party in an effort to reconnect with voting blocs.
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock told the New York Times, “It's unfortunate that in American politics, the rhetoric of faith has become another tool in 'us and them' politics.” Congressman James Talarico of Texas added: “Progressives need to understand that the separation of church and state is not the separation of faith and politics. Unless we do that, we will continue to lose elections.”
The Democratic Party should begin to embrace faith communities, as many faith communities are belatedly beginning to embrace them. In an election cycle in which nearly every group, from young people to Hispanics to women, has moved to the right, election data shows some Christian denominations showing an unexpected shift to the left. That includes Mormons in Arizona, whose community is bucking the state's right-wing trends. Others, including many Baptists, embraced him because he supported Kamala Harris. Accept LGBTQ Christians As a child of God.
Some of this was evident during the campaign, as when ordinary Mormons traveled from Utah to Idaho. Hosting Harris campaign event This is a clear denial of the immorality characteristic of President Trump. Even then, many Democrats remained skeptical and still scarred by Jerry Falwell's past experiences. moral majority and the merger of conservative Christianity and the Republican Party. Look at the hate that false prophets love falwell and Pat Robertson It's hard to blame the Democrats for being careless after spending their lives spitting.
As a Christian and a Democrat myself, I understand that hesitation. Because I have shared the same feeling for many years. There is an undeniable tendency among Democrats to downplay overt expressions of Christianity, such as going to church, reading the Bible, and even quoting Scripture in speeches. Campaign events involving churches often involve lengthy internal debates as staff agonize over the pros and cons, implicit messages, and optics.
Lost in this love triangle is the fact that for many Americans, there is nothing particularly noteworthy about any of these expressions of faith. One Harris staffer told me that Democrats' anxiety about “doing religion” shows that a lack of familiarity and comfort with issues of faith can often be a paralyzing and troublesome obstacle for Democrats. . For many Hispanic voters who spent decades in Democratic coalitions, the party's decision to leave the party last month was largely influenced by the party's lack of connection to their faith, if any at all. Gave.
The answer is not that Democrats need to get better at “doing religion.” That means we need to embrace party leaders who naturally speak about faith because faith is central to their lives. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Cory Booker (New Jersey); Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, everyone have something deep and serious connection to their faith. Unfortunately, Democrats are generally wary of “doing religion,” so effective messengers often silence discussion of faith for fear of alienating the Democratic base.
What a loss to our party.
In that sense, the Republican culture war was a huge success. By contrasting themselves with the religious fundamentalist right, Democrats have abandoned millions of voters who identify with the religious left. The unilateral withdrawal from faith dialogue has allowed the Republican Party to claim to be the official voice of Christianity in America. It has had nightmarish consequences for everyone except the marginalized, non-Christians, women seeking abortions, and the religious right.
Tackling these difficult questions not only strengthened my understanding of my faith; It taught me that there are tens of millions of faith-filled people in this country who rebel against the stereotypes imposed on them by both the left and the right. Democrats can win back these voters, but first they will need to rediscover that Christianity is not a dirty word.
Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies.
