http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/religions-back-in-the-political-ring/2006/11/06/1162661616459.html
Religion's back in the political ring Gerard Henderson November 7, 2006 Page 1 of 2 | Single page THE debate in Western democracies about the proper relationship between religion and politics is as old as representative government itself. Yet, every now and then, it surfaces in public debate. Since Federation in 1901, the argument about that which belongs to God and that which belongs to Caesar has flared on a number of occasions. During World War I Protestant church leaders criticised Daniel Mannix, the Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, for involving Catholicism in politics by opposing conscription for overseas service. There was no such criticism for the few Catholic bishops who publicly supported conscription. Then, in the mid-1950s, Mannix was criticised for supporting B.A. Santamaria and the anti-communist Democratic Labor Party which broke from the ALP at the time of the Labor split. Again, those Catholic leaders who openly supported Labor (such as Cardinal Norman Gilroy and Bishop James Carroll in Sydney) were not subjected to such attacks. This issue has resurfaced since John Howard became Prime Minister. The case for the prosecution is enunciated in Marion Maddox's God Under Howard. Her thesis is that Howard has been responsible for the "corrosion of Australia's soul" by implementing "imported policies normally associated with the American Christian right". This is hyperbole posing as scholarship. However, it is true that some of the Howard Government's policies have appealed to some believers in Australia - Christian and non-Christian alike. They include the Coalition's support for faith-based schools and the Government's social conservatism on some moral issues. In view of this, it makes sense for Labor to contest this ground, especially since there are a number of Christians prominent in the ranks of the party's federal leadership, including Kim Beazley, Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan. Recently Rudd attempted to capture this issue for Labor with a significant essay titled "Faith in Politics" published in the August issue of The Monthly. Rudd identified with Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-45), the German Protestant theologian who was murdered by the Nazis on account of his resistance to Hitler's regime. Rudd says Labor Christians should follow "Bonhoeffer's critique in the '30s" and "take the side of the marginalised, the vulnerable and the oppressed". In other words, Rudd sees the role of the Christian in politics as focusing on social outcomes, including opposition to what he terms "market fundamentalism". Clearly Rudd wants to play down the focus on private morality in the contemporary Christian ethos. Consequently he wrote that he sees "little evidence" that a "preoccupation with sexual morality is consistent with the spirit and content of the Gospels". Well, that's the way Rudd sees it. Quite a few Christians, especially in the outer suburbs and regional centres where most of the marginal seats are located, see it differently. Many do not acknowledge a difference between private morality and public policy. This is a political problem for Labor since its vote is divided between an inner-city group of social progressives and an outer-suburban/regional town group of social conservatives. Rudd says Bonhoeffer's voice speaks "to us through the ages". Yet this overlooks the fact that Bonhoeffer was vehemently opposed to abortion. Such a position is unlikely to become ALP policy any time soon. In a speech last week launching the new edition of Peter Coleman's study of the Catholic poet and political activist James McAuley, Tony Abbott took issue with Rudd on a range of matters. In particular, he claimed that concern about the abortion rate is not just a preoccupation with sexual morality. Yet Abbott acknowledged that Christians like himself did not, and could not, prevail on moral issues in the face of strong opinions in the community. He highlighted "the conscience vote on RU-486 and the impending vote on human cloning" as having "arisen through the parliamentary tactics adopted by MPs generally hostile to religious influence on public life". What is different about the present debate about religion and politics, at the political party level at least, is that Rudd and Abbott acknowledge that believers have a right to contest the public debate. What divides them turns on what they regard as policy priorities. Abbott is correct to draw attention to what he has termed the increasing Catholicism of the Coalition. Not so long ago the Liberal and National parties were once the preserve of Protestants. Not any more. Witness the high profile in the public debate of Abbott and the Nationals leader, Mark Vaile. But the Catholic influence on Labor remains strong. Rudd was brought up a Catholic. And it was the Catholic Paul Keating who, when treasurer in the Hawke government, set in place the first stages of economic reform in Australia which has led to what Rudd now regards as market fundamentalism. Rudd and his Christian Labor colleagues are on the correct track, in a political sense at least. It makes sense to challenge the Government's increasing support among Christians. Yet Labor's task is not easy. Beazley backed Howard's sensible idea to fund the appointment of chaplains in government and private schools. But this policy was opposed by some Labor backbenchers (for example, Senator Trish Crossin) and some union leaders (for example, Mary Bluett) who argued that the position should be secular, rather than religious. God does not prevail in Australia under Howard. Yet opponents of the Government have a vested interest in establishing the perception that God would be well regarded under a Labor government. Supporting Labor's leadership on the school chaplains issue would be a good start. Gerard Henderson is executive director of the Sydney Institute. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! 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