Choosing Biden: a new respect for Christian values?

Barack Obama's selection of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate demonstrates that the Democratic candidate for president is putting his money where his mouth is in reestablishing a voice for faithful Christians in the Democratic Party and in showing a genuine respect for fundamental Christian ethics. Senator Biden, coming from an Irish Catholic, blue-collar home in Pennsylvania, is a person of deep faith who has spent decades fighting for working families and greater justice for all Americans.

In a time when many Americans feel that major public institutions lack a moral base, Democrats, it seems, under the leadership of Senator Obama, have finally acknowledged the importance of welcoming and including citizens of faith into their party. Too often in the past, the Democratic Party has tossed the issues of religion and moral values out with the wind, positioning themselves in an exclusionary secularist mentality, arguing that moral conclusions must be reached through reason and rationality alone. But this view is not only exclusionary; it is itself unreasonable. It is unreasonable to think that our shared Judeo-Christian belief system should not play a part in determining how we would like our political system to run and our democratic representatives to act.

It is important to remember that a majority of Americans share the basic beliefs of the Christian faith and that it is this set of beliefs that has shaped American history since its establishment in the 18th century. Although our founding fathers were deists, they were nonetheless inspired by fundamental Christian ideas about the individual and his/her rights. Scholars such as Stephen Prothero (Boston University) and Hugh Heclo (George Mason University) have recently authored books reminding us of the foundational role that Christian beliefs and ethics have played in the history of our democracy. Catholics, although rarely in a position of dominance in the political system, have helped lead the way in feeding, clothing and educating millions of Americans and people around the world; they fought in World War II to help defeat fascism; and Catholic nuns and priests marched with so many others in Selma, Alabama. These acts were not only religious; they were very clearly political and stemmed from the ethical core of Christianity that calls for mutual respect, justice, freedom and equality for all human beings, and the stewardship of the environment.

On the whole, the personal and political records of both Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden testify to their deep commitment to these fundamental human and Christian values. It is hoped that as the campaign develops, the Obama-Biden ticket will give these fundamental values greater and more consistent resonance in their message.

Comments

[Kari Lundgren - Huffpost Blogger]

Nicely put. Thanks for the this post. It's important for people to realize that the Right doesn't have a monopoly on faith and values. Sometimes the Left has neglected to emphasize that.

[turtle bay]

I think this is a great article and you rock and I love you.