[10-15-04]

We've just received this note urging us to post a notice about an important bit of reading for this campaign season. The author of the note has agreed for us to post it here, with very minor editorial changes

Hello,

I want to be sure you know about a recent book by a professor at the University of Washington, David Domke. He's a Presbyterian, as am I. The book is God Willing? Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the 'War on Terror,' and the Echoing Press. Domke studies the Bush administration's use of religious language and concludes that they are doing something entirely different than we have seen for decades. This is not about Bush's own personal faith; it's about the way they use religion and religious images to justify policy.

I owe Domke a debt of gratitude. Before I read his book, I knew I was frustrated with the Bush administration's use of religious language, but I had a hard time articulating why. I'm a Christian myself, a Presbyterian minister, certainly a devoted Democrat, but I never object to Christians speaking publicly about their faith. I knew something different was going on with the Bush administration.

Domke identifies four characteristics of what he calls "political fundamentalism." Two of them are obvious to anyone who has watched politics for the past four years: the love of black-white dichotomies and suppression of dispute on issues. It's the other two characteristics that gave me that sense of AHA. Domke says the Bush administration has picked up a Christian fundamentalist obsession with time (because Jesus might come back any minute) and used it to rush various decisions. Bush has used a lot of "this is the moment" language, which also flows from that characteristic of conservative Christianity.

The fourth characteristic of political fundamentalism that Domke identifies is using Christian "gospel" language, but applying it to political ends. For example, the way Bush talks about liberty and freedom sounds just like the way the Bible talks about the Christian Gospel. This has the unfortunate effect of making this administration seem to be saying, "You're either with us or against God." What damage for democracy!

I would love it if you could [read this book] before the election. I read so many articles that say that Bush does nothing different than other presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan when he uses religious language. That's simply not true. Americans need to understand that the way Bush links religion and policy is something entirely new and very damaging to the democratic process.

If you want easy access to Domke's ideas, check out the web site the University of Washington has set up about his book. If you look at the page "essays and excerpts," there are several links to articles he's written that pretty clearly lay out the issues in the book. Here's the web site address: http://www.com.washington.edu/god_willing

Keep up the good work, thanks for reading this.

Sincerely,
Rev. Lynne Baab
Seattle, WA