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Members of the Portsmouth-area religious community gather to discuss faith issues last week.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his campaign have been reaching out to religious communities not just in the South or the Bible Belt, but in New England as well. This weekend, Obama spoke to the United Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut, about how his Christian faith. Too often, religion has been used to divide Americans, he said, and that it is now time to put aside religious differences to work toward our common goals. This speech comes after a week-long series of faith forums held in churches across New Hampshire. His presidential campaign, working with church leaders in the state, held these forums to explore how faith factors into progressive politics.
The old adage that politics and religion are not appropriate subjects in polite conversation is only partly true in New Hampshire. While politics is something that can be discussed almost anytime and anywhere, talking about it in church is not something with which most Granite Staters feel comfortable. Although religion plays a large part in people's lives here, regardless of denomination, when it comes to the role of religion in politics, New Hampshire has traditionally been a fairly secular state.
"It's not my impression that voters up here tend to pay a lot of attention to that aspect of a candidate's background," said Dante Scala, professor of politics at the University of New Hampshire. "It may be a factor, it may be something voters wouldn't mind hearing about, but I don't think for most voters it would be the deciding factor."
Reid Cherlin, spokesperson for the New Hampshire Obama for America campaign said these forums were meant to "get the conversation started" amongst people in the faith community who want their politics to more closely reflect their faith. The forum wasn't solely about promoting the Obama campaign, but was more part of the greater conversation the campaign hopes to foster through Obama's Faith-Action-Change initiative.At the first forum, held at the New Hope Baptist Church in Portsmouth, about 40 people from 14 different congregations and 10 different towns came together. It was called a public event but was closed to the media because the participants had said they felt more comfortable talking about religious issues, which can be quite personal, if the press wasn't there, said Cherlin. Chuck
Hotchkiss, a professor at Southern New Hampshire University's School of Community and Economic Development and coordinator of the Portsmouth forum, said the event focused on finding common goals between the varying denominations and eventually working toward these goals in "public life" or outside the church community.
"I think the idea is the religious right had kind of cornered the market on faith and this is an effort to recognize there are a lot of different people of faith out there," said Hotchkiss. "This is very much an exploratory effort ... the concepts we are drawing on has its roots in community organizing. I don't think anyone's ever tried to apply those to a presidential campaign before."
In recent presidential contests, most Democratic candidates have held the position that church and state should be as separate as possible. This campaign year, however, many of the Democratic candidates are trying to shift the religious debate, focusing less on hot-button social issues like abortion, and more on basic religious tenets, like helping those in need. To foster this discussion, many campaigns have formed religious outreach coalitions that encourage people of all faiths to enter the discussion. Thus far, the Obama campaign has held more faith-based events in the state than any other candidate.
"From my point of view I think people are hungry for the opportunity to have this kind of conversation. They're interested in these issues," said Hotchkiss. "I think the hope is people will get so engaged into this, they will be attracted to a candidate who recognizes that hunger and brings people together in a different way."
Democratic candidates John Edwards and U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., have both framed the issue of faith around social justice and poverty issues. To Edwards, raising the minimum wage and encouraging programs that lift people out of poverty is derivative of his faith and Christian values. Dodd, in an interview on CNN, also spoke about the values he was taught through his Catholic upbringing. Although he does not wear his religion on his sleeve, he attributed his desire to serve in the Peace Corps and help others to his faith.
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has openly talked about how faith and prayer helped her during difficult times, has supported public funding of government faith-based initiatives and talks about the important role of religious institutions in her book, "It Takes a Village." In a recent op-ed piece in the New Hampshire-based Hispanic magazine Siglo 21, Clinton also mentioned how closely the faith community is tied to issues like poverty and immigration.
When it comes to issues of faith and the Republican candidates for president, the emphasis is still on abortion, marriage and protecting "family values." GOP candidates have also formed faith coalitions, though few have done much in New Hampshire. Jim Merrill, the campaign manager for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's New Hampshire campaign said they are working on holding faith outreach forums in the next few months. Some Republicans have also been discussing religion in New Hampshire as it relates to social justice issues.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is also a Baptist minister, has said the right-to-life community must also work to improve health care and services for children and he recently told NHpols.com his faith has given him empathy for others.
"Both life and governing get a lot simpler when you approach decisions based on, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" said Huckabee.
Photo courtesy of the Obama for America campaign.
Beth LaMontagne can be reached at blamontagne@nhpols.com. |
