Religion lecture tackles role of religion in today's politics

October 30, 2006 —

Dr. Alan Wolfe of Boston College was present on campus Thursday morning to give the fifth lecture in this year's fall lecture series to a capacity crowd in the Malcolm Filed Theatre for Performing Arts.

Wolfe's lecture, entitled "Who's Afraid of American Religion?" focused on the role American evangelicalism plays in American politics. It is a subject that has been written on before him, but it is Wolfe's contention that religion's influence on the political landscape has reached its apex.

"I am not prepared to say that we are becoming a theocracy," says Wolfe. "In fact, I believe just the opposite. I believe 2006 will be remembered as the year religious influence in politics peaked."

Wolfe gave several points supporting his argument, including our nation's "rigorous reliance on the separation of church and state" and the tremendous religious diversity of America.

According to Wolfe, the influx of immigrants in the early 20th century has made religion more diverse and much more difficult to define.

"Today every religion is a minority," he said.

He then continued to explain that America's incredibly diverse religious landscape is in fact working to build tolerance between religions that, in other regions of the world, are constantly feuding.

"In America, Muslims who cannot find meet prepared in accordance with their religious doctrine turn to kosher foods instead," says Wolfe. "Isn't it interesting that two religions borrow from each other in this country, while in the Middle East they are fighting to the death?"

Wolfe offered the following prediction as a conclusion to his argument:

"Too many people have the war on their minds, and the religious issues will not dominate the polls [in the upcoming election]," he said. "This will be the year they in fact begin to subside."

Wolfe works as a professor of political science, as well as the director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.

His work in recent years has focused mainly on cultural and religious issues in American politics, the search for national identity and purpose, and how these factors have helped to shape American history.

He is the author or editor of more than ten other books including One Nation, After All (1998) and Moral Freedom: The Search for Virtue in a World of Choice (2001), both of which were selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year.

Only two lectures remain in the series: next week, Ebbo Patel will give "The Role of Religious Youth in the 21st Centruy" and the following week, SVSU professor Thomas Renna will present "Fundamentalisms in Conflict on the Temple Mount: A Historians's Persepctive. Both will be held in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.