Times columnist Douthat on American politics and religion
August 29, 2012
New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat, a practicing Catholic, offers his thoughts on American politics and religion in an interview with the National Catholic Register.
Regarding the major-party presidential candidates of 2012, Douthat observes: “Romney and Obama are two candidates that come from religious traditions outside the mainstream of American Christianity of the past.”
Although his own views are generally conservative, Douthat acknowledges that there is a traditional American strand of thought that is “recognizably Christian and engaged in progressive social reform.” But he expresses concerns that today’s liberal Christians—including the Catholic women religious affiliated with the LCWR—have moved beyond that distinctively Christian liberalism to embrace more radical views. “It is dangerous for Christianity to be associated with post-Christian movements,” Douthat says.
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Posted by: Justin8110 -
Aug. 29, 2012 9:57 PM ET USA
Neither Obama or Romney are Christian in any sense that would be recognizable even to the likes of Luther and Calvin. While I'm not a fan of the Puritanism of many of the early American settlers I wouldn't hesitate to say that they were at least recognizably Christian in that they believed in the Ten Commandments and the Divinity of Christ. I can't say that Obama or Romney believe in either.
