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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 14:45 |
 In addition to the Democratic election victories in the Nov. 7 elections, both locally and nationally, another important trend may have escaped the notice of many ÇƒÓ votersë rejection of a particularly ardent fundamentalist melding of politics and religion.
Republicans from the fundamentalist wing of their party seemed to do particularly badly in this election. Rick Santorumës defeat in the Senate race in Pennsylvania is one example and another is the removal of Indiana Rep. Jim Holstetter.
All around the country, those conservatives who held onto their seats were mostly of a more moderate breed: less fire-and-brimstone and more libertarian.
An
even bolder sign of the rejection of right-wing policies came in the
initiatives and referendums passed at the state level. Conservative
South Dakota overturned a sweeping abortion ban passed last year.
Missouri passed an amendment allowing stem cell research.
In Arizona, for
the first time in the countryës history, an amendment seeking to ban
gay marriage failed. While such initiatives did succeed in five other
states, they bought out far less voters and support than in 2004.
Rather than a
changing of the political winds, this also represents electoral results
finally conforming to the reality of the United States.
After all,
according to a study by the University of New York, fundamentalist
conservatives, the so-called "religious right," only comprise about 14
percent of the population.
Their impact and
voice have been overly magnified by political connections, media
outlets and their sheer ferocity in asserting that they alone represent
the true voice of Americans.
Nov. 7 showed
that not to be true ÇƒÓ and that many religious Americans, even plenty of
evangelicals, do not feel the need to foist their religion on others
through political force.
History shows
that religion and politics are a dangerous mix ÇƒÓ something Americaës
founders understood well and repeatedly warned against.
We see the
results of these initiatives and the defeat of theocratic candidates as
a positive sign about the values of tolerance in our society. Whatever
oneës political affiliation, it should be a commonly held belief that
the divine is not Republican ÇƒÓ or Democrat ÇƒÓ and is best left up to
individuals to seek and serve as they see fit.
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