Still At It

The two Dans are still mixing it up over religion and the Dems, God & Country Dan here and and here, and Pastordan here, the latter enlisting enough in the way of comments to suggest that the discussion has generated more than a modicum of interest, at least at the corner of Street and Prophet. […]

boxing.jpgThe two Dans are still mixing it up over religion and the Dems, God & Country Dan here and and here, and Pastordan here, the latter enlisting enough in the way of comments to suggest that the discussion has generated more than a modicum of interest, at least at the corner of Street and Prophet. I don’t have anything much worth adding, so I’m happy to let the two duke it out to their hearts’ content.
Except this: The election’s over, the Dems are in power, and the issue at hand is how the Obama White House decides to deal the religion deck. Rick Warren was the first card played, and it suggests that the incoming president sees white evangelicals as the force to be reckoned with, enlisted if possible, or if not defanged. Gilgoff believes that Obama’s actually managed the last of these; while I think that’s highly unlikely, the effort’s noteworthy.
But the real question is: What happens next? My guess is that the White House will undertake a process of religious coalition building, on an issue-by-issue basis: AIDS, Darfur, abortion reduction, faith-based social service provision, poverty, immigration, climate change, health care. Denominational leaders will be players as well as representatives from a wide range of church and para-church groups. The point will be to engage the religious in those areas where their agendas and the administration’s coincide. Will some feel that that they’re being co-opted? Sure, and with reason, but the invitation to participate will be hard to resist. Who will manage the process? Hey, reporters!
Update: And it does indeed look like the White House is moving in that direction. Thanks for the reporting, Dan!

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