A Muslim, a Catholic, and a Mormon walk into a White House: Theological Racism in the 2012 Presidential Race
GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum
As the Republican presidential primaries ramp up for Super Tuesday, religion has, once again, become a central topic of public discourse. Presidential hopeful, Rick Santorum, has been the most vocal and controversial in the last couple weeks, but Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have also gotten into the theological bashing. This explosion of religious rhetoric erupted after the Obama Administration faced off against the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops on issues of contraceptive healthcare coverage.
As public attention grew, advocates on both sides of the issue, both religious and secular, as well as Catholic and people from other traditions, turned this topic into two interestingly similar, yet distinct headlines: Obama’s War on Religion vs. Republicans’ War on Women. While a great analysis of these competing headlines is valid and needed, I am interested in deconstructing a new term that has been bouncing around in my head ever since I heard some recent remarks by Rick Santorum about Obama’s religious identity: theological racism.
In a recent talk given at an Ohio Christian Alliance event, Santorum said that Obama’s agenda is “not about you. It’s not about your quality of life. It’s not about your jobs. It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology, but no less a theology.” His critique hits at two important questions regarding what it means to be a liberal Christian and what differentiates a legitimate theology from a phony one. On the first point, Santorum responded to the notion that Obama was a liberal Christian in an interview in 2008, by questioning its very existence:
“Is there such thing as a sincere liberal Christian, which says that we basically take this document [the Bible] and re-write it ourselves? Is that really Christian? That’s a bigger question for me. And the answer is, no, it’s not. I don’t think there is such a thing. To take what is plainly written and say that I don’t agree with that, therefore, I don’t have to pay attention to it, means you’re not what you say you are. You’re a liberal something, but you’re not a Christian.” -Rick Santorum
President Obama and the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright
Extreme hypocrisy aside (i.e., there is no way that those sweater vests are not mixed fabrics…), Santorum is implicitly suggesting that Obama’s theological tradition within the United Church of Christ is inherently a phony theology. The subtext to this is clear: the liberal Christian tradition and the social gospel movement are illegitimate. In other words, the President’s agenda of improving the lives of the most vulnerable is anti-Christian. Santorum has framed Obama’s faith another way, labeling him a “Jeremiah Wright Christian”. And this is where we see the subtleties of theological racism spring forth. From my understandings of James Cone’s black theology, a central component of the tradition is to understand God’s participation within the struggle of, yet inevitable liberation from, black oppression.
Santorum is undermining the black church and the black experience, while failing to see God at work within this struggle and Obama’s political agenda. The whole reason the topic of phony theology emerged was when Santorum was critiquing the President’s “radical environmental agenda,” placing the earth above the needs of humans. I understand a conservative, dominion-centered interpretation of Genesis, but he fails to understand that our symbolic mother and father were kicked out of Eden because they were not able to live in harmony with the earth. Now we are facing the consequences, and instead of admitting that we have continued to rape and pillage the earth, Santorum prefers to play king and subdue it, which is inherently anti-Christ(ian).
Throughout time it has been the privilege of the oppressor to decide what is right and what is wrong, what is Christian and what is not. This day is no different: white theology has the power in a white racist society to determine what constitutes Christianity. Franklin Graham, perhaps Santorum’s biggest bigoted religious advocate has no qualms with his Christian faith. One thing is for sure, as we move closer to November, this discussion will only become more passionate. President Obama: stand up for the progressive Christian values that were instilled in you by your loving mother, grandparents, and the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. I am not sure whether Santorum would support my Unitarian Universalist (heretical) faith tradition or theology, but nevertheless, I have faith that you will, in the end, do what is right and true to your faith as a Christian.
Posted on February 24, 2012, in Politics, Theology and tagged Black Theology, Faith, Franklin Graham, Government, Jeremiah Wright, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Obama, Racism, Republican, Rick Santorum. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
That was pretty awesome. It’s just a shame such clear thinking will be lost to those who need to hear it most.
Reblogged this on Ninure da Hippie's Blog.
Wow. The political rhetoric and falsehood thrown around by candidates today is unbelievable. And you’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.
Nic, your title for this blog is intriguing … it starts sounding like a joke, but then you pull the rug out with the theological racism bit. Fabulous use of media. (In fact, I’d like to talk to you some time to gain some insight from you in that arena.)
There is one thing you may want to edit within the post – I think it would be a good idea to put Santorum’s name in the little box with his quote. Otherwise, folks just perusing your blog may correlate that quote with the image of President Obama and Jeremiah Wright. I’m certain you don’t want to risk tarnishing Obama’s character with such a misinterpretation.
Finally, while I think that the overall length of this post is excessive, I honestly don’t how you could shorten it without removing important content.
What is Teology without God. Obama is a better theologian than all the candidates running. By the way, Jeremiah Wright has a real name: the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. I will be happy when this bloody election is over. I rather be anywhere in the world than this forsaken country.
I would like to make a number of points regarding Santorum: (l) When Santorum begins his carpaign jargon about religion someone should ask him where he obtained his theological credentials? Santorum is a politician and not a theologian! (2) Santorum shouldd read James Cone’s “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” to see how conservative Christianity use the Bible to validate their RACIST behavior! and (3) While Franklin Graham is one of Santorum’s biggesst supporters, Franklin Graham’s only theological credentials are his being the son of Billy Graham!
Thank you for this reply! I completely agree about the unchecked religious hubris of people in society, especially public leaders. I have heard really powerful things about Dr. Cone’s new book. In my Systematic Theology course this semester, my professor Dr. JoAnne Marie Terrell (who pursued her dissertation under Dr. Cone) is instructing us under the tradition of black theology, the methods of constructing our own theologies. Once again, thanks for your comments
I can’t understand people who call themselves “Bible believers” and ignore passages like Matthew 25:34-46 or Ezekiel 16:49 (‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”)
I AM a liberal Christian, and I take extreme objection to Mr. Santorum’s statement that “there is no such thing as a liberal Christian”. We take the Bible and see the message of God’s love and that the moist important thing for us to do is love one another. We see the message that we are supposed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the oppressed.
There are those on the Christian right who use the Bible to beat others over the head if they are not in agreement with the way that they have twisted God’s word. It sounds more like prosperity theology than what I recognize in the Bible.
Thanks Turtle for standing up as a person of liberal faith to say NO to people who seek to highjack your religious tradition. As you say the Bible is a message of God’s love, for God is love. And if this is the case that we need to put on our love-tinted exegetical glasses with all of our work as religious leaders in working towards eradicating injustice and cultivating peace!
Wow!! I was moved and enlightened by this work. Thank you. I thought your point that the anti-liberal theology tack that Santorum and others take is inherently racist, as their theology cannot offer any meaningful religious understanding of the black experience of suffering and liberation in this country. Any theology that leaves that out is, at best, weak, and at worst, as you nailed it, racist.
Thanks Bob. I think it is really important, as I have learned from my trainings in dismantling white racism, for white allies to stand up against racism where it exists. Even when that can be hard. Furthermore, I appreciate your comments and support on this blogpost.