April 28, 2003
HANI, an Iraqi Christian and former soldier, holds his daughter Rita at their home in a Christian suburb of Beirut April 21. Despite celebrating another Easter in exile, many Iraqi Christians in Lebanon say they are wary of returning home despite the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. (Jamal Saidi/Reuters/RNS Photo)
Religious leaders and churchgoers
singing from different book on war
___By Mark O'Keefe
___Newhouse News Service
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--It has been called organized religion's most unified anti-war stance since the latter days of the Vietnam conflict.
___But public opinion polls show the spiritual movement opposing war in Iraq has had little impact on churchgoers, much less on the American public, both of which overwhelmingly support both the U.S.-led invasion and President Bush.
___When former President Jimmy Carter, a Baptist, wrote in early March that religious leaders had "an almost universal conviction" that an invasion would be unjust, the statement seemed self-evident. Leaders of mainline Protestant denominations, including the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church, opposed war, and Pope John Paul II worked passionately against it.
___Largely overlooked in all this was the reality that the flocks didn't agree with their shepherds. According to a February Gallup Poll, two of every three Americans who attend church at least once a week supported war.
___Religious conservatives see this split as evidence that a sometimes quiet majority of regular churchgoers--even in moderate to liberal denominations--tilt right on many major political issues.
___"The mainline churches have suffered a blow to their relevancy in America that will take them more than a generation to recover from," said Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a conservative radio talk-show host from Mercer Island, Wash., who speaks frequently at Christian Coalition conferences.
___But Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, could hardly disagree more. In his view, the council, representing 36 denominations, is playing a prophetic role--much as it did in the 1960s when it took a stand for civil rights.
___"None of the Old Testament prophets had a majority," said Edgar, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania. "My position is that prophetic voices are always way out ahead of the congregation. Those willing to speak out should not expect automatic enthusiasm. They should understand pretty clearly that the rank and file take a little longer to focus and to follow."
___A nationwide survey March 13-16 by the Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that 62 percent of Catholics and the same percentage of mainline Protestants support the war.
___Luis Lugo, religion program director at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia, called that "a significant gap" between church leaders and followers.
___For years, other polls have shown mainline Protestant leaders to be significantly to the left of their members on the death penalty, affirmative action, defense spending and other issues. "Protestant church leaders ought to be concerned," Lugo said. "That's not a healthy long-term trend."
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
