Democrats tout faith, while a few DNC caucuses omit 'under God' from Pledge

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Weekend Plug-in 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Got feedback or ideas for this column? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.

(ANALYSIS) Did the Democrats “get” religion or not?

Certainly, lots of headlines coming out of this week’s virtual Democratic National Convention had strong faith elements.

But a different storyline gained traction, too.

The words “under God” were left out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the DNC’s Muslim Delegates & Allies Assembly and its LGBT Caucus Meeting, as first reported by David Brody, the Christian Broadcasting Network’s chief political analyst.

“NOT the way to win rust belt culturally centered Dems,” Brody tweeted.

Victor Morton of the Washington Times noted:

The phrase was not part of the Pledge when Congress first officially codified it in 1942 (it dates back in various forms to 1906). It was added in 1954 under a bill signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty … In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource, in peace or in war,” Eisenhower wrote.

Brody stressed that when reciting the Pledge during main sessions, the Democrats said the words “under God.”

But the exclusion of those words by certain Democratic caucuses, he suggested, harkened back to 2012 when Democrats came under fire for removing “God” from the party platform. At the request of then-President Barack Obama, the party reversed that decision.

Eight years later, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign — in what Biden calls “a battle for the soul of America” — has put an emphasis on winning over religious voters.

Elana Schor, national politics and religion writer for The Associated Press, highlighted the array of faith leaders tapped to speak at the convention. Schor also explored the significance of Delaware Sen. Chris Coons’ Thursday night focus on the Democratic nominee’s faith. Coons planned to attest “in highly personal fashion to his longtime friend’s belief in God,” as the AP writer put it.

“The theme and timing of Coons’ speech on the pandemic-altered convention schedule underscore Democrats’ interest in engaging with religious voters on the basis of shared values with Biden,” Schor reported.

Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman pointed out that going into the convention, “party officials released a 60-second digital ad promoting the presumptive nominee’s Catholic faith.”

“Experts on the historically complicated relationship between American Catholics and evangelicals say this emphasis — primarily aimed at Catholic and mainline Protestant voters — may not help Biden win over white evangelicals, a core part of President Donald Trump’s base,” Silliman wrote. “But it also won’t hurt.”

Also figuring prominently in DNC religion news: the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop who — to quote the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein — played a “starring role in one of the summer’s big culture war controversies.”

Budde, as noted by Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins, “criticized President Donald Trump after he held a Bible aloft during a photo op in front (of) St. John’s Church near the White House in June.” Democrats picked her to offer a prerecorded benediction Tuesday night.

California Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, quoted from the Bible when she talked about walking by faith, not by sight.

So, did the Democrats “get” religion or not? Many observers would argue that they did. But that other storyline did not help.

• • •

Saturday update: President Donald Trump tweeted this morning about the Pledge of Allegiance issue, failing to note that the omission involved two caucuses and not the full convention.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Joe Biden's Catholic politics are complicated, but deeply American: Have we mentioned Democrats and faith yet this week?

Seriously, anyone seeking to understand the juxtaposition between Biden’s Catholicism and his political positions (for example, his support for abortion rights) should check out this interesting, insightful profile by Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins.

2. Jerry Falwell Jr. dreaded the spotlight. Then came Donald Trump: For religion writers lately, Falwell is the gift that keeps on giving.

Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein traces Falwell Jr.’s history with Liberty University to help understand the factors that led him to his present predicament: an indefinite leave of absence from his role as president of the nation’s largest Christian university.

For still more coverage, see The Associated Press, Politico, NPR and The Atlantic.

3. At Philly Catholic churches, secret renovations expose rift between traditional and Neo-Catechumenal members: Neo-what?

I love it when a journalist tackles a religious trend unfamiliar to me and works hard to help me understand it. That is the case here.

This is a fascinating in-depth piece by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Valerie Russ. I learned a lot reading it.

•​ A new face for Canadian social conservatism (by Adam MacInnis, Christianity Today)

•​ Life after death? A minister battling COVID-19 flatlines (by ​Chellie Ison, ​Christian Chronicle)

•​ QAnon: The alternative religion that’s coming to your church (by Katelyn Beaty, RNS)

•​ More U​.​S​.​ churches sue to challenge COVID-19 restrictions (by David Crary, Associated Press)

•​ A preacher with sneakers coming soon to TBN: Steven Furtick to replace Kenneth Copeland, says network (by Alejandra Molina, RNS)

•​ Abortion ​fight ​evolves, ​overshadowed in 2020 but ​with ​huge ​stakes (by Maggie Astor, New York Times)

•​ What the coronavirus pandemic has taught us about religious freedom and trust (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines

Have you read Jennifer Berry Hawes’ book  “Grace Will Lead Us Home” about the 2015 Emanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston, S.C.?

If not, both the reporting and storytelling by the Pulitzer Prize-winning special projects writer are exceptional.

And there’s good news: The Post and Courier journalist’s book is now out in paperback.

Charging Station: In Case You Missed It

Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.

• Kamala Harris leans on faith traditions to reach voters for Democrats (by Hamil R. Harris)

• DNC to include Catholics James Martin, Simone Campbell (by Timothy Nerozzi)

• Violence and conspiracy create perilous times for Jews and Christians (by Lela Gilbert)

• These faith podcasts for LGBTQ listeners have exploded during the pandemic (by Nick Fiorellini)

• Question when covering Latter-Day Saints: Do we have a mother in heaven as well as a father? (by Richard Ostling)

• Countering Islamophobia with community: A Lebanese woman's spiritual retreat in France (by Zainab Chamoun)

• India will soon surpass China in number of world’s tallest religious statues (by Stephen David)

• New thriller 'The Order' makes fiction from Catholicism's doctrinal friction (by Clemente Lisi)

• John MacArthur, Grace Community Church defy California to hold worship (by Christina Darnell and Jillian Cheney)

• Zimbabwean churches lead Zimbabwean Lives Matter protest against abuse, corruption (by Tawanda Karombo)

• The history of forgiveness in racial reconciliation (by Schadrac Junior Ondongo Bongo)

The Final Plug

A Facebook friend posted a photo this week of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dean from a 1966 Tennessee church directory.

A lot of people, including me, were fascinated by the picture of the then-newlyweds.

Mrs. Dean is better known as Dolly Parton. She has been married to Mr. Dean, who eschews the spotlight, for 54 years.

Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.

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