Mirror of Justice

A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory.
Affiliated with the Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Senator Danforth

Senator Danforth has always struck me -- and still does -- as a serious, thoughtful, and decent person and public servant.  I was sorry, then, to learn from Michael that Danforth has joined the chorus of New York Times columnists who see in the Schiavo case and the stem-cell-research debate little more than the ambitions and political agenda of a political party in the grip of "conservative Christians."

Danforth's piece -- as one would expect from him -- lacks the bile and venom of recent pieces by Frank Rich ("It is a full-scale jihad that our government signed onto last weekend"); Maureen Dowd ("Are the Republicans so obsessed with maintaining control over all branches of government . . . that they are willing to turn the nation into a wholly owned subsidiary of the church?"); and Paul Krugman ("The Schiavo case is, indeed, a chance to highlight what's going on in America.  One thing that's going on is a climate of fear for those who try to enforce laws that religious extremists oppose.")  (As Rob has already discussed, Krugman regards as "extremists" -- as just a few steps removed from the Taliban or those who murder abortion providers -- pharmacists with religious scruples about abortion pills and those who think Democratic senators ought not to filibuster conservative judicial nominees.)

Two quick points:  First, Danforth is simply wrong -- not alone, but still wrong -- to assert that opposition to embryonic stem-cell research or to causing Ms. Schiavo's death by ending ANH is to impose a "sectarian agenda."  Neither Leon Kass nor Nat Hentoff, for example, are conservative Christians.  Second, Danforth states that "[w]hile religions are free to advocate their own sectarian causes, the work of government and those who engage in it is to hold together as one people a very diverse country."  "At its best, religion can be a uniting influence, but" -- he worries -- "in practice, nothing is more divisive."  I do not believe, though, that the standard according to which "religion" should be judged is whether or not it yields political unity and harmony.

Rick

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» Are the Republicans Pushing a Sectarian Christian Agenda? from The Seventh Age
This is the question being asked by former Republican senator and ambassador John Danforth in today's NY Times. The very "moderate" Republican senator asks about the implications of having the party platform hijacked by Christian conservatives, highlig... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 30, 2005 6:08:40 PM

» Are the Republicans Pushing a Sectarian Christian Agenda? from The Seventh Age
This is the question being asked by former Republican senator and ambassador John Danforth in today's NY Times. The very "moderate" Republican senator asks about the implications of having the party platform hijacked by Christian conservatives, highlig... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 30, 2005 6:13:09 PM