Voting with heed to religion assures democracy

Editor’s Note: Voices is a weekly commentary by a panel of Maine columnists who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.

I do not believe in the separation of church and state. “Church” and state are inexorably linked in our country. As they should be.

Every participant in the democratic process has a “church.” It may be a synagogue, a mosque, a cathedral, an ocean, a mountain, a goddess or a bank, but everyone worships something, somewhere.

Some core value informs our choices. We all give our life over to something bigger than ourselves, and those somethings come right along with us into the voting booth, into public debate, marching on into the democratic process.

It is impossible to have a democracy void of the values or pursuits of faith, and there is nothing wrong with that. Rather than protecting an illusion of separation, we need to be honest about the connections between church and state. We need to be clear about who is influencing what. Do we want someone who believes in profit for a few and worships money making social decisions? Do we want to know which faith values influence our legislative representation? Why don’t we have it all out on the table to incorporate in our democratic process rather than pretending it is not there? We want to know whether a candidate is pro-choice or pro-life. We want to know if our candidates are pro-war, pro-gun control or fiscal conservatives. Aren’t these faith-based values for many? Can values be separate from religion or the lack of it?

The United States of America is rated as one of the most religious countries in the world, second only to those governments run by religious leaders where law and religion are one. Our places of worship are the dominant environments for value formation and clarification. We wrestle with the angels and then we wrestle with the city council. Was the recent reversal of the Bangor City Council’s decision to allow liquor and nudity in the same establishments influenced by the religious values in our community? I think so. Isn’t that as it should be? I did not directly communicate to the councilor in my congregation as “the minister,” but I hope the values of his faith influenced the process of his decision making and his vote. For some of the protesters, faith was front and center in their confrontation of the council’s original vote. For others, faith was not as candid, but faith spoke.

We all take our faiths out of their sanctuaries and carry them back into the world. Our faiths are relevant if they influence the choices we make. Our faiths should be with us, all the time reminding us of our best selves, a higher purpose and the role of humility, compassion and love, whether it is in a political arena or the grocery line. We need our spiritual self to be present, informed, prepared to hold the tensions of a complex world without fragmenting.

In this presidential election year, it matters what we believe.

The health and well being of our democracy is dependent on informed participation. We need wide representation in the political process so that the agendas established and choices offered are truly representative of the whole nation, of all our most precious and diverse values.

We are not a democracy if the money, myths and minds of a privileged few decide what is important. As a citizen, I can rest more easily with the outcome of an election if I believe the debate has been open, the issues real and the majority of voices heard.

When the faiths and opinions of an outspoken, privileged few manipulate the facts and speak loudly for a self-serving agenda, it is not separation of church and state: It is fascism. Unless we all bring our faiths to the democratic process then we run the risk of having one religion – one definition of faith influencing the governance of our nation. That is what our constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state was written to protect us from, the dominance of one faith over another, squelching our right to worship or not and to choose what we believe. We were never expected to leave faith out of politics.

As a minister, I intend to mix church and state by engaging my congregation in increasing voter participation through voter registration, mobilization efforts, public forums, poll monitoring and advocacy.

I will preach on the values I believe should be influencing our decision making as the campaign months roll on. I will not endorse any position or candidate from the pulpit. I will raise issues for debate based on our Unitarian Universalist principles and purposes. As a religious professional I will avoid making public statements in support of one candidate or campaigning for a particular stand. As an individual, I will be clearly visible living my faith, putting my values into action.

People of faith need to be outspoken about their values, clear about their sources. Citizens need to exercise their rights to debate, question, reason and advocate for a particular stand, faith-based or not.

That is the “church” that needs to walk hand and hand with the “state,” assuring the integrity of our democracy.

The Rev. Elaine Beth Peresluha is minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor. The views expressed are solely her own. She may be reached via bdnreligion@bangordailynews.net.