Group decries mixing religion and politics

BY DARREN BARBEE

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/special_packages/election2004/9599115..htm

FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - A growing number of theologians, ministers and citizens are taking issue with statements made by evangelical Christian leaders suggesting that God has chosen sides in the presidential election.

An advertisement published in The New York Times to coincide with the Republican National Convention begins, "God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat."

As of Friday, more than 59,000 people have pledged support for the advertisement, according to Sojourners, a Christian Internet magazine that helped sponsor the ad. A Sojourners spokeswoman said the magazine did not ask for supporters' political affiliations.

The advertisement quotes Pat Robertson saying that God told him President Bush would win the election "like a blowout." It quotes Jerry Falwell, saying it is the responsibility of evangelical Christians, pro-life Catholics, traditional Jews and Reagan Democrats to re-elect Bush.

The advertisement has also run in newspapers in Falwell's and Robertson's hometowns.

Sojourners editor Jim Wallis helped write the statement, which was initially signed by 40 ministers and professors. He said the advertisement is nonpartisan.

Wallis said he is concerned that Robertson, Falwell and other religious conservatives have emphasized personal issues such as gay marriage and abortion at the expense of social issues such as poverty.

"Christian leaders shouldn't tell people how to vote," said Wallis, who said he will support Democrat John Kerry in November. "They should talk about ... core Christian values."

According to the advertisement, core values include human rights, the environment and "wars of choice."

"Do the candidate's budget and tax policies reward the rich or show compassion for poor families?" it asks.

Pat Carlson, chairwoman of the Tarrant County, Texas, Republican Party, said the advertisement is "as partisan as you can get."

"There are certainly Christians in both parties, and I would never say that there weren't," Carlson said.

But, Carlson said, if voters truly believe in the Bible "and look at what the parties stand for, it's a clear choice."

The advertisement follows other efforts by ministers and professors, some with Democratic Party ties, to call attention to their uneasiness at the link between Christianity and the Republican Party.

A letter mailed to Bush last month by prominent theologians called on President Bush to stop asking for Republican Party volunteers' church membership directories.

The Rev. Tony Campolo, the spiritual adviser to former President Clinton, helped write the letter to Bush and helped initiate the Times advertisement.

Campolo said he felt compelled to respond because churches are -defining Jesus as politically aligned."

"We don't think God has become a Democrat," Campolo said. "What we want to make clear is that Jesus transcends both political parties."

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