When the Political Tide Turns Against the Church



We have all been entertained, and frustrated at times no doubt, by watching political theater. The older we are the more times we've seen the political tide turn. I'm old so I've seen more than most people alive today.

Jimmy Carter is a Southerner and was a Southern Baptist. When he first ran he was endorsed by conservative religious leaders. When he expressed tolerance for abortion and other issues conservative pundits turned against him. He lost reelection.

Today the Catholic Diocese in New Jersey was another of the states to release a list of clergy with credible charges of sex abuse. There are 200 names on the list and critics say the list is incomplete. Add to this list revelations of the Protestant Southern Baptist convention. What is going on represents a political tide change.

For hundreds of years, politicians saw it in their interest to smile and praise everything Christian. Now Attorneys General in several states see political advantage in demanding transparency from Christian officials and prosecuting some clergy. The old magic the church once had is gone.

Press coverage also has cycles of what it is interested in devoting time and space to. The press need readership and eyes on TV screens. Seeing the powerful and pompous fall is a winner for the press. It sees gold in fallen clergy.

Tides change and could again turn in favor of religion. How long might that be? The current change took several hundred years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/nyregion/list-of-priests-abuse.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage

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