John Whitehead's Commentary
One Year Later, Are Americans Really Any Closer to True Religion?
I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands--this is not optional--my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.
--Jimmy Carter
Much has changed in the year since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. On that fateful day, America lost its innocence--or perhaps simply the naïve belief that we are invulnerable to assault.
With the nation on red alert and our defenses breached, our liberties were sacrificed for security. And in the process of trying to salvage our nation from the rubble of shock and despair and draw close to the things that really matter, Americans supposedly "got" religion.
In fact, according to a new poll commissioned by the Barnabas Institute, one year after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, tens of millions of Americans are thinking more about religion and taking action to be more religious in their daily lives. But what impact, I wonder, has this increased religiosity really had on America?
The more than 34 million people who live at or below the poverty level in the United States today might insist that religion has not had much of an impact at all. A poll by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, released around the same time as the Barnabas study, sheds some light on the subject.
More than 75 percent of the poor people surveyed on what it means to be poor in the United States said they had experienced hardship since Sept. 11. Yet when asked if they felt people were more or less willing to help those living in poverty since Sept. 11, one-third said people were less willing to help. This is in light of the sad fact that one in six children in this country lives below the poverty level.
It is these kinds of facts and figures that raise serious questions about the claims that Americans have gotten religion since 9-11-01. After all, to truly be effective, religion must be a thing of substance rather than showmanship, and this is where that "old time religion" in America tends to stumble.
Although members of Congress sang "God Bless America" on the Capitol steps, our schoolchildren are often prevented from expressing their faith in school. Worse, despite the millions of dollars spent on Christian outreach ministries and television evangelism, morality is at an all-time low. There are also more poor people than ever, and the prison population is skyrocketing.
This inability to put religion into action is reflected in the lack of teaching we see in the churches and other religious institutions. It's also reflected in the breakdown of leadership in the church, as shown by the recent sexual scandals in the Catholic Church. And it's reflected in the continuing scandals facing corporate leaders, among other examples.
Unfortunately for those in need, the majority of Americans have grown spiritually lazy. Accustomed to getting by with the absolute minimum, too many people mistakenly believe that attending a weekly worship service is what religion is all about. And they have completely lost sight of the Good Samaritan principle of going the distance for someone in need.
But as Thomas Jefferson said, "It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read." More to the point, it is as Jesus Christ, with whom many in the Barnabas poll would identify, said, "Inasmuch as you did it for the least of these My brethren, you did it to me." Christ declares,
I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.
Thus, true religion is action-oriented and centers on a love of human beings. This love requires an "otherness," a shifting away from oneself and focusing on those around you. Yet this very same selflessness goes against the grain of much of modern American society, which is based on materialism and self-centeredness.
The bottom line is simply this: Unless and until religion is taken seriously in this country and begins to meet people's needs, we can have no hope of true change and progress. Until the prisons start to empty and the poor decrease in number, there can be no true religion in this country.
And until every American begins to accept responsibility for his or her neighbor and the state of this nation we will continue to worsen, no matter how much religion we get.
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.
--Jimmy Carter
Much has changed in the year since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. On that fateful day, America lost its innocence--or perhaps simply the naïve belief that we are invulnerable to assault.
With the nation on red alert and our defenses breached, our liberties were sacrificed for security. And in the process of trying to salvage our nation from the rubble of shock and despair and draw close to the things that really matter, Americans supposedly "got" religion.
In fact, according to a new poll commissioned by the Barnabas Institute, one year after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, tens of millions of Americans are thinking more about religion and taking action to be more religious in their daily lives. But what impact, I wonder, has this increased religiosity really had on America?
The more than 34 million people who live at or below the poverty level in the United States today might insist that religion has not had much of an impact at all. A poll by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, released around the same time as the Barnabas study, sheds some light on the subject.
More than 75 percent of the poor people surveyed on what it means to be poor in the United States said they had experienced hardship since Sept. 11. Yet when asked if they felt people were more or less willing to help those living in poverty since Sept. 11, one-third said people were less willing to help. This is in light of the sad fact that one in six children in this country lives below the poverty level.
It is these kinds of facts and figures that raise serious questions about the claims that Americans have gotten religion since 9-11-01. After all, to truly be effective, religion must be a thing of substance rather than showmanship, and this is where that "old time religion" in America tends to stumble.
Although members of Congress sang "God Bless America" on the Capitol steps, our schoolchildren are often prevented from expressing their faith in school. Worse, despite the millions of dollars spent on Christian outreach ministries and television evangelism, morality is at an all-time low. There are also more poor people than ever, and the prison population is skyrocketing.
This inability to put religion into action is reflected in the lack of teaching we see in the churches and other religious institutions. It's also reflected in the breakdown of leadership in the church, as shown by the recent sexual scandals in the Catholic Church. And it's reflected in the continuing scandals facing corporate leaders, among other examples.
Unfortunately for those in need, the majority of Americans have grown spiritually lazy. Accustomed to getting by with the absolute minimum, too many people mistakenly believe that attending a weekly worship service is what religion is all about. And they have completely lost sight of the Good Samaritan principle of going the distance for someone in need.
But as Thomas Jefferson said, "It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read." More to the point, it is as Jesus Christ, with whom many in the Barnabas poll would identify, said, "Inasmuch as you did it for the least of these My brethren, you did it to me." Christ declares,
I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.
Thus, true religion is action-oriented and centers on a love of human beings. This love requires an "otherness," a shifting away from oneself and focusing on those around you. Yet this very same selflessness goes against the grain of much of modern American society, which is based on materialism and self-centeredness.
The bottom line is simply this: Unless and until religion is taken seriously in this country and begins to meet people's needs, we can have no hope of true change and progress. Until the prisons start to empty and the poor decrease in number, there can be no true religion in this country.
And until every American begins to accept responsibility for his or her neighbor and the state of this nation we will continue to worsen, no matter how much religion we get.
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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