The dance, really a marathon that brings to mind the classic movie “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, has been going on as long as there have been governments and organized religion. That is to say that this delicate tango has been with us since time immemorial.
In ancient times, the state and the state religion were one and the same. Rulers were regarded as divine intermediaries between gods and the people.
The balance progressed, with periods of regress, through the Roman Empire, which introduced the idea that God and earthly political leadership occupied distinct spheres, to Medieval times, to the Reformation, and eventually the Enlightenment.
Our American Constitution represented a hallmark of enlightened thought by mandating the strict separation of church and state, prohibiting the government establishment of religion and protecting the free exercise of religious faith.
Other countries continue to take quite different approaches. The Church of England maintains a formal role in the nation’s government. Theocratic systems (think Iran) fuse religious and political authority. All manner of hybrid systems dot the globe.
That does not even constitute a thumbnail overview of this complicated, evolving interaction. But here we are. And it leads us to the topic of the day in the political world and the flavor of the month on the Democratic side of the aisle.
At the ripe age of 36, James Talarico recently secured the Democratic Senate nomination from Texas of all places. His candidacy will receive plenty of ink between now and November for two reasons.
As the country has split into blue and red territories, religious practice has grown ever more significant as a point of division. Others have commented that we have a sacred party and a secular party.
Of course, that is too simplistic in a big, diverse country. Still, nearly 40 percent of Kamala Harris voters identified as “religiously unaffiliated” while Donald Trump racked up huge margins among the most religiously devout, including nearly 85 percent support from white evangelical Protestants.
As one would expect, the sacred versus secular dichotomy is rife with contradictions. Many leaders worshipped by Democrats came from the clergy, including Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the recently deceased Rev. Jesse Jackson. On the flip side, figures such as Trump or Talarico’s potential Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, are hardly models of religious piety and probity.
Moreover, in places where Republican support has skyrocketed, specifically small-town and rural America, religious attendance and affiliation is on the marked decline.
Still, religion has become a key dividing line in our polarized politics. The Moral Majority and many allied groups fueled the Republican dominance of the Reagan era and well beyond. On a local level, Focus on the Family and a slew of evangelical-centered organizations made Colorado Springs the hotbed of Colorado conservatism.
Across the country, Christian nationalism is on the ascendancy as a piece of the MAGA coalition. Its implicit case is that the American firewall between church and state needs recalibration in a way that emphasizes Christianity in national identity and public policy.
Into this heated, contentious mix walks Democratic up-and-comer Talarico. His positions on the broad array of topics deviates little from this or that standard-issue Democrat. But his mode of presentation and the language he chooses are starkly different.
On one hot-button question after another, he frames his argument in spiritual terms and around his Christian values. A Presbyterian seminarian, Talarico handles the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage dismissively. “It’s remarkable that you have an entire political movement using Christianity to prioritize two issues that Jesus never talked about.”
He continues, “To focus on those two things instead of feeding the hungry and healing the sick and welcoming the stranger, three things we’re told to do ad nauseam in Scripture to me, is just mind-blowing.”
My attitude about Democratic prospects in Texas are stolen from the Missouri slogan. Quit telling me that Democrats are on the cusp of victory and start showing me.
That said, two factors could combine to give Democrats, namely Talarico, a shot. If Paxton, an especially unsavory sort and currently the Texas attorney general, can pull off a Republican runoff win over beleaguered incumbent John Cornyn, and if the projected national Democratic wave takes on tsunami-like dimensions, then anything is possible.
For now, Talarico is stepping apart from other Democrats not just in his message but also in his audience. He helped himself immeasurably with an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast which led to the conservative influencer offering profuse praise. What a novel idea for a Democratic candidate to step out of his safe space.
Ultimately, Talarico will be held to account for his stances and legislative voting record. The invocation of Scripture will mitigate only so much of that. Hard-core Christian conservatives are unlikely to be won over.
But close elections can be tipped by rather small gains. Beyond that, for a party that for decades has all-too-willingly ceded both God and patriotism, Talarico could offer a fresh, original voice amidst our stuck divide
