Cheapening Faith

Healy: Using Faith As Political Weapon Serves No Purpose

(CBS) 
It's a dry run for the big event many expect this summer -- the resignation of a Supreme Court justice.

The difficulty is that there is no one position by "people of faith" on abortion.

Theologians have been arguing for centuries over when life begins. Ensoulment -- when a soul enters the human body -- is still argued over in seminaries. Aristotle may have started it with his De Anima….Jung was enthralled with it. To many people of religious faith, when the soul enters the body is when life begins.

There is no one Protestant view on abortion. The Catholic Church is opposed to all abortions but many of its adherents disagree. Thirty-three per cent of American Catholics in a recent CBS News Poll say abortion should be generally available in the United States.

But in many ways, all of that misses the point.

The role religious faith should play in political life is not a settled one. Some argue religion is a private matter and does not have equal standing in political debate with, say, economics, or historical precedent, or simple logic. Others, including me, argue religion animates people's actions and should play a part in the public arena, along with one's race, gender, economic situation; whatever one wants to bring to the table.

However, using religious faith as a willy nilly political weapon -- a hot button slogan -- does not serve any useful purpose. It is divisive, it smacks of theocracy and it is simplistic.

The Family Research Council -- founded by my friend Dr. James Dobson of Focus In The Family -- had better put that ugly weapon back in the closet. It's a nuclear option better left unused.

And if you don't agree with me, just ask your own President.