February 10, 2008
Obama Speech on Religion and Politics
Here is the keynote address Obama delivered to the Call to Renewal"Building a Covenant for a New America" conference, from June 2006. It's from long before the campaign began, so it doesn't have the music his speeches from the campaign have had. It is nonetheless a thoughtful and compelling speech about how progressives can find common ground with people of faith.
Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.
Here's a transcript.
Via MeFi
Posted by dham at February 10, 2008 9:45 PM | TrackBack