Inclusion always bothers exclusivists -- Obama, religious diversity, and conservative Christians

by Jeffrey Weiss
Dallas Morning News

I suppose there's no real surprise here: Obama's shout-out in his inaugural address to Hindus, Muslims and "nonbelievers" is stirring up reaction from some of those who are sure they know God's will for America -- and that those groups aren't it. Melinda Henneberger over on AOL News finds a couple of conservative Christians who took exception. Best quote:

"Obviously, Jewish heritage is very much a part of Christianity; the Jewish Bible is part of our Bible. But Hindu, Muslim, and nonbelievers? I don't think so. We are not a Muslim nation or a nonbelieving nation."'

We all need to take care when we decide what is and is not an appropriate element in our cultural heritage. I bet there's a rabbi or three who would be glad to tell Bishop E.W. Jackson of the Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va. that they consider Jewish scripture "part of" Christianity in the same way that gold doubloons were "part of" Blackbeard's booty: Stolen and misused. And strictly as a matter of statistics, the percentage of Americans who self-identify these days as "none of the above" when asked their religion is pretty much the same, more or less, as those who self-identify as belonging to some conservative branch of Christianity.

None of which makes the conservatives wrong in expressing their POV. But I suggest that it will marginalize them from the majority of Americans who have told pollsters they have a less exclusivist attitude toward religion. Steven Waldman, over on Beliefnet.com, also has an interesting take on this.

more:

Obama's Olive Branch to Non-Believers Rankles Non-non-believers

Newsflash: *** HOPELESS HANDKERCHIEF HEAD ISSUES A PRESS RELEASE ***

- Lived in Boston and doesn't acknowledge non-theist's role in American history and culture?

- A Harvard trained lawyer?

- Studied Theology and doesn't see diversity of faith and non-faith?

Commentary: Come here Doobie Brothers....

Doobie brothers-what a fool believes
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In conclusion:

"Even the foolish man, when he keeps quiet, is taken to be wise: when his lips are shut he is credited with good sense" Proverbs 17:28