Faith and Politics

Two interesting items crossed the editor’s computer screen yesterday. The first was a section of CNN’s web site entitled “God’s Warriors.” It’s the support material for a three-part series done by Christianne Ammanpour that airs August 21-23 from 9-11 pm EDT. Billed as a dispassionate look at fundamentalism in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, it shows the promise of being an interesting tracing of the historical roots of a phenomenon with which all three Abrahamic religions are grappling these days.

Ms. Ammanpour is well-equipped for the task. A native Iranian, she was educated in Britian, works for an American corporation, and is married to former State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin. You can find out more here.

For those who want still more, try reading the article by humanities professor Mark Lilla’s article in today’s New York Times magazine entitled “The Politics of God.” It seeks to explain—in far too little space—why the West experienced the Great Separation of church and state while the rest of the world did not… and why that matters in today’s world. Mr. Lilla also mentions—almost as an aside—that the American experience, which retains both a democratic secular government and a plethora of thriving religious communities, is entirely unique in the world. You can read it here.

Why does this matter to Episcopalians? It matters because we are unique, both as a branch of Anglicanism and also as an American denomination. Understanding both who we are and how others see us can go a long way toward building a better understanding of how we can live in community with brothers and sisters both here and abroad.