Joe Biden proves that religion and politics can, indeed, mix
Is it acceptable for a politician to talk about the role religion plays in their political life? Joe Biden seems to think so.
The new president has been quick to acknowledge publicly the important role that his Catholic faith plays in his political life.
This may all seem a little strange to Canadians. Although we have politicians of deep faith, there seems to be something un-Canadian about publicly mentioning it. This is unfortunate.
As we have seen with Biden, faith can lead politicians to focus on the poor, the marginalized and the planet — themes that have taken a new prominence during the pandemic. Religious faith tries to teach us humility, forgiveness and love of others — even our enemies. Are these not attributes needed in our polarized and hyperpartisan world?
There have been some exceptions in Canada. A handful of politicians are quite open about the intersection between their faith and their work. Although several would call themselves progressive, most Canadians automatically think about the more extreme voices.
It was hard, for example, not to notice that the same week Joe Biden was sworn in as president and his faith celebrated, Derek Sloan was ejected from the Conservative party, partly due to his faith-inspired views.
Sloan, a member of the Seventh Day Adventist tradition, has never shied away from crediting the role that faith has played in his politics, including his conservative positions on a number of “hot-button” issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights. He is also known for an extreme form of libertarianism, adopting potentially injurious positions against mask-wearing and vaccines, as well as attracting some fringe elements to his cause.
When you combine this with controversial remarks about Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam and a number of other major missteps, it is understandable that the Conservatives would want to boot him from their caucus.
It’s unfortunate that Sloan’s views are often held up as the beginning and end of any discussion about faith and politics. Although his beliefs may make for sensational media and fulfil convenient stereotypes, focusing on Sloan does a disservice to the many thoughtful conservative people of faith. They challenge us to cast a critical eye on our society and re-evaluate some of our choices. They represent views held by many Canadians and have every right to be part of the discussion.
This focus also ignores people whose faith leads them to other points on the political spectrum. Not every religious person is focused on same-sex marriage or abortion. Their concern for life extends to the plight of the poor, seniors and refugees. Their faith calls them to fight the power of big corporations, dismantle systemic racism and work for a more robust social safety net.
These voices bring a welcome perspective to debates about the future of our nation.
They also do something else: they hold the extreme voices accountable.
There is no question that some people use faith as a weapon of hate and intolerance. Who better to challenge that perspective than other religious voices?
Joe Biden’s presence on the world stage sends a message that faith perspectives in our public square don’t need to be limited to extremists. In fact, I would argue that the solution to extreme religious positions is more religious voices in our political system, not fewer.