A classy outlook on it from Al Gore
Gore's mouth tightened. A Southern Baptist, he, too, had declared himself born again, but he clearly had disdain for Bush's public kind of faith. "It's a particular kind of religiosity," he said. "It's the American version of the same fundamentalist impulse that we see in Saudi Arabia, in Kashmir, in religions around the world: Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. They all have certain features in common. In a world of disconcerting change, when large and complex forces threaten familiar and comfortable guideposts, the natural impulse is to grab hold of the tree trunk that seems to have the deepest roots and hold on for dear life and never question the possibility that it's not going to be the source of your salvation. And the deepest roots are in philosophical and religious traditions that go way back. You don't hear very much from them about the Sermon on the Mount, you don't hear very much about the teachings of Jesus on giving to the poor, or the beatitudes. It's the vengeance, the brimstone."
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I know someone intelligent like Gore could sit at my table and we would have wildly entertaining debate about the good and bad of religion. He clearly understands the part of religion that is not just dictated by ancient texts and the word of some God but also a machination of man and very much a function of basic human behavior. There's a science to his thinking. I can tell he truly believes but knows the baggage man imparts on faith. Mitt Romney's statements said none of that. He can publicly stomach diversity of belief in a God but dehumanizes and denegrades people that haven't come to the same conclusions he has. Damn the election of 2000.
Art