Did the Democrats “get” religion or not?

Certainly, lots of headlines coming out of this week’s virtual Democratic National Convention had strong faith elements.

But a different storyline gained attention, too.

The words “under God” were left out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the DNC’s Muslim Delegates & Allies Assembly and its LGBT Caucus Meeting, as first reported by David Brody, the Christian Broadcasting Network’s chief political analyst.

“NOT the way to win rust belt culturally centered Dems,” Brody tweeted.

Victor Morton of the Washington Times noted:

The phrase was not part of the Pledge when Congress first officially codified it in 1942 (it dates back in various forms to 1906). It was added in 1954 under a bill signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty … In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource, in peace or in war,” Eisenhower wrote.

Brody stressed that when reciting the pledge during main sessions, the Democrats said the words “under God.”

But the exclusion of those words by certain Democratic caucuses, he suggested, harkened back to 2012 when Democrats came under fire for removing “God” from the party platform. At the request of then-President Barack Obama, the party reversed that decision.

Eight years later, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign — in what Biden calls “a battle for the soul of America” — has put an emphasis on winning over religious voters.

Elana Schor, national politics and religion writer for The Associated Press, highlighted the array of faith leaders tapped to speak at the convention. Schor also explored the significance of Delaware Sen. Chris Coons’ Thursday night focus on the Democratic nominee’s faith. Coons attested “in highly personal fashion to his longtime friend’s belief in God,” as the AP writer put it.

“The theme and timing of Coons’ speech on the pandemic-altered convention schedule underscore Democrats’ interest in engaging with religious voters on the basis of shared values with Biden,” Schor reported.

Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman pointed out that going into the convention, “party officials released a 60-second digital ad promoting the presumptive nominee’s Catholic faith.”

“Experts on the historically complicated relationship between American Catholics and evangelicals say this emphasis — primarily aimed at Catholic and mainline Protestant voters — may not help Biden win over white evangelicals, a core part of President Donald Trump’s base,” Silliman wrote. “But it also won’t hurt.”

Also figuring prominently in DNC religion news: the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop who — to quote the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein — played a “starring role in one of the summer’s big culture war controversies.”

Budde, as noted by Religion News Service’s Jack Jenkins, “criticized President Donald Trump after he held a Bible aloft during a photo op in front St. John’s Church near the White House in June.” Democrats picked her to offer a pre-recorded benediction Tuesday night.

Continue reading “Democrats Tout Faith, While A Few DNC Caucuses Omit 'Under God' From Pledge” by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.