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The intersection of politics and religion in America has been both a fascinating and frustrating mystery to those who care about our nation. Despite the contention of some contemporary political commentators, the role of religion in our nation is a debate as old as America itself. Conservatives have had the upper hand in this battle for the past several years and their success has been reflected in electoral gains across the land. Recently, however, several observers from the liberal side of the political spectrum have argued that there is ample room for religious values in a progressive political agenda.
OUR ENDANGERED VALUES: America's Moral Crisis, by former President Jimmy Carter, is a passionate and provocative defense of the true meaning of religious value in political life. While many Americans were disappointed in Carter's White House tenure, there is no denying that since leaving the presidency, he has lived an exemplary life that fully embodies a man comfortable with his religious life and willing to practice and spread his moral values throughout the world. Unlike many politicians and commentators who espouse religious values while practicing hedonistic, self-absorbed lives, President Carter has lived a life that exemplifies the ultimate combination of faith, politics and leadership.
In the 25 years since leaving the White House, Carter has written, spoken and labored in support of human rights, the poor and issues consistent with his fundamental religious beliefs. OUR ENDANGERED VALUES calls into question the commitment of many religious fundamentalists to important religious core values. He questions why many politically conservative religious fundamentalists show a lack of concern for the poor in our nation, for human rights around the world, for torture of political prisoners, and for countless other issues. It is Carter's belief that fundamentalist religious values made America the moral leader of the free world. Our nation has strayed from the ethical path provided by religious belief and we need to return to that road.
In concise and simply written chapters, OUR ENDANGERED VALUES sets forth President Carter's view of the role of religion in our society and contrasts that position with a fundamentalist viewpoint that he considers dangerous. Carter contends that a dangerous branch of fundamentalism can be characterized by three concepts: rigidity, domination and exclusion. For his part, Carter believes in a more inclusive goal for religion because "...those who truly follow the nature, actions, and words of Jesus Christ should encompass people who are different from us with our care, generosity, forgiveness, compassion, and unselfish love." Having documented the differing philosophies, the remainder of OUR ENDANGERED VALUES applies those rules to critical political issues of our time.
Carter sets forth his view of the proper role of religious belief in a pluralist society and then proceeds to specific discussions of critical issues in contemporary life. From abortion to the death penalty, to the role of women in society, to the recognition of same-sex relationships and even to protecting the environment, the proper role of religious belief is examined. In one interesting example Carter points out the folly of proposals to amend the constitution to prevent same-sex marriage. In a Gulliver-like suggestion, he proposes a constitutional amendment to provide: "Adultery and Divorce are condemned, and marriage is defined as a legal and spiritual union between a man and a woman until they are parted by death."
There is an important place for religion in America. The pendulum however may have swung too far, and prominent men of faith such as Carter and former United States Senator John Danforth have begun to voice their concern over the divisive role that many are causing religion to play in American life. There was a time in America when religion supported values of humility and charity. Carter reminds us that we can return to such an era and still remain true to our nation and to our God in a manner that strengthens our relation to both.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
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