A recent news item creating consternation in various
quarters across the American nation involves a poll of American Jewish values:
as a group, American Jews favor Mormons and Muslims over conservative evangelical
Christians, who have long supported the state of Israel. Whoops!
The poll was conducted by the Public Religion Research
Institute, whose website
describes it as a “nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization
dedicated to work at the intersection of religion, values, and public life.” In
early April, PRRI issued a report,
Chosen for What? Jewish Values in 2012:
Findings from the 2012 Jewish Values Survey. This report described a
wide-ranging survey of values and attitudes among American Jews, using a sample
of 1,004 Jewish adults canvassed in February and March 2012 (p. 31). One part
of the report addressed Jewish attitudes towards other religious groups:
Respondents were asked to rate their feelings toward certain
groups on a 100-point scale, where ratings between 51 degrees and 100 degrees
indicated that the respondent felt favorable and warm toward that group, while
ratings between 1 degree and 49 degrees meant that the respondent did not feel
favorably toward the group. Ratings of 50 degrees indicated that the respondent
did not feel particularly warm or cold toward the group. (p. 18)
When asked to rate Mormons …, American Jews, on average, rated
them at 47. The average rating for Muslims was somewhat lower, at 41.4. By
contrast, when asked to rate the Christian Right, American Jews report an
average of 20.9, a score indicating that American Jews hold considerably
unfavorable feelings toward members of the Christian Right, significantly more
so than towards Mormons or Muslims. (p. 19)
This finding is extremely controversial for some in the
Jewish community. The Christian Right—basically, conservative Evangelical
Christians—have been stalwart supporters of the state of Israel. However, as
the PRRI survey shows, there is considerable distrust on the part of Jews in
regard to the Christian Right. As reported
in the Forward: The Jewish Daily:
“I find this shocking and concerning,” said Rabbi Yechiel
Eckstein, founder and president of the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the first major group to engage
evangelical Christians in support of Israel. Eckstein and other activists
working on Jewish-evangelical relations expressed a sense of betrayal, accusing
Jewish liberals of being prejudiced against Christian conservatives and of
clinging to pre-conceived notions and stereotypes about evangelicals’ beliefs
and goals.
Concern over these findings has been the subject of an
article in The Blaze (later
reposted on the
Yahoo! News portal), which stated, about the PRRI survey, that “these
results are sending shock-waves through some faith communities.
But why is this finding such a surprise? The fact is that the
Christian Right, at the same time that it supports the political state of
Israel, harbors elements that endanger religious freedom in the United States
for Jews—and for everyone who is not an Evangelical Christian.
Look at the facts. Last summer, Texas Governer Rick Perry
(remember him?) sponsored a national prayer event called The Response. The
event was financed by the American Family Association (AFA), an Evangelical
Christian group which teaches that the First Amendment freedom of religion
applies only to Christians, as reported by the San
Francisco Chronicle and FOX
News. This notion about the First Amendment is clearly expressed by AFA-sponsored
bloggers, such as Bryan
Fischer.
Really! If the First Amendment protection of freedom of
religion only applies to Christians, then of course Jews would be endangered.
No wonder, then, that Jews would have overall a less-favorable opinion of
Evangelicals, despite their support for the political state of Israel (which is,
after all, a convenient ocean and continent away).
But is it only Jews who should be concerned in this way? Oh,
no.
It is important to note that, for many Evangelicals, most of
the people in the United States who call themselves Christians are somehow “not
really Christian.” (I explain this in detail in an
opinion column on the Yahoo! Contributor Network.) Catholics? Not Christians
to these Evangelicals. Same with members of the Orthodox churches, the
Latter-day Saints/Mormons, the Seventh-Day Adventists—basically, anyone who is
not an Evangelical Christian.
Now put these two thoughts together:
If
a)
the First Amendment freedom of religion only
applies to Christians,
and
b)
Catholics, Orthodox, Mormons, and other non-Evangelicals
are not really ‘Christian,’
then
c)
the only people to whom the First Amendment
freedom of religion applies are Evangelical Christians—and nobody else!
Yes, there really are people who believe this. Millions of
them. But this kind of political position is utterly unacceptable within a true
democracy.
The religious beliefs of the Christian Right/Evangelical
Christians are their own affair. However, concerned Americans of any political
or religious stripe should make it a point to highlight their concerns about
religious freedom with political candidates, particularly those of an
Evangelical persuasion. Do these candidates believe that the First Amendment
only applies to Christians? It is a good question to ask.
First Amendment freedoms for all in America: That is truly On
The Mark™.
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(Copyright 2012 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights
Reserved.)
