In a world of frightened people, fearful diseases, and political leaders who have a difficult time coping with both, it is more important than ever to revive in our world a concept of how sets of ideas or ideologies play out in both politics and religion. Living in the American southland for the past 50 years where religion and politics have long been intermixed, it has been intriguing to see this over the decades, even while people claim that the two should not mix or be discussed in polite company.
Of course, while growing up in the Midwest, social etiquette also dictated that one should not discuss religion or politics because they would provoke arguments and make enemies. However, I was fortunate as a young man to be taught in high school and college by men and women who were convinced that religion, morality, and politics were supposed to influence each other. It was the time of the Civil Rights movement and, later, the war against poverty. It was a time of hope.
I grew up in a time and place where people, especially my peers and teachers in our midwestern Catholic ghetto, believed in the common good even if we didn’t call it that. Morality and religion (not always combined) defines for us what is good, and it is in the political realm that we define what it is that we should hold and protect in common, for the welfare of all. I am reminded of this value whenever I see the title Commonwealth of Kentucky on our state logo.
So in this blog, I hope to consider with readers some ideas on how the Christian message might be understood in a way that unifies rather than divides people, and how that, in turn, might promote the common good. I invite all readers to help me do this more effectively.
I now invite you to consider with me two important questions once meditated upon at some length by Francis of Assisi: Who is God? Who am I?