Gov. Jindal's prayer rally, Catholicism don't align: Michael Pasquier
Pope Francis laughs at the start of his homily during a mass with clergy and religious at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception during his visit in Manila, Philippines, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Gov. Bobby Jindal will headline a prayer rally Saturday on the campus of Louisiana State University. Dubbed "The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis," Jindal is taking a page from the political playbook of fellow White House aspirant Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who hosted a similar gathering in his home state three years ago.
Local and national media outlets have highlighted the rally's affiliation with the American Family Association (AFA). The AFA describes itself "as one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations ... on the front lines of America's culture war." The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the AFA as a hate group for its vitriolic position against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Many of LSU's students, teachers and alumni have expressed dissatisfaction with university administrators for permitting a hate group to sponsor a religious gathering on campus. Many other Louisianians plan to attend the prayer rally, largely because of their alignment with the views of Jindal and the AFA on matters of faith and society.
Neither of these responses to "The Response" should come as a surprise. For better or for worse, this is the state we live in.
According to a Pew Research survey on the U.S. religious landscape, 31 percent of Louisianians identify themselves as evangelical Protestants (Baptists and Methodists, mostly), while 28 percent call themselves Catholic.
Jindal, a self-described "evangelical Catholic," epitomizes the political and religious coalition of evangelical Protestants and Catholics in Louisiana.
"Evangelical Catholicism," if we are to use Jindal's phrase, is a peculiarly American creation. It's a version of Catholicism with roots in the anti-communist movement of the post-World War II era, when prominent Catholics like Bishop Fulton Sheen adopted a style of pro-America rhetoric that matched Protestant revivalists like Billy Graham. This partnership was codified in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, as Jerry Falwell launched his "Moral Majority" and quickly discovered that Catholics comprised roughly a third of the political action group's membership.
Prominent politicians have continued to embrace this brand of Catholicism, including lifelong Catholic Rick Santorum and Catholic converts Jindal, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich and Sam Brownback. Then there are non-Catholic politicians like Mike Huckabee -- a former Baptist minister and governor of Arkansas -- who reacted to the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate with the announcement, "Thanks to President Obama, we are all Catholics now."
It's hard to imagine Pope Francis ever attending "The Response." Unlike the organizers of the prayer rally, the pope doesn't endorse American exceptionalism, creationism, biblical literalism or the rapture. He also doesn't encourage AFA-style animosity toward LGBT people. Asked about his position on homosexuality, the pope responded, "If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge? They shouldn't be marginalized." Compare this to Jindal's defense of the AFA's support for "The Response," an organization with a leader that believes "being an active homosexual should disqualify you from public office."
But more telling, American Catholics don't share the same history as evangelical Protestants. A church of immigrants, Catholics in the 19th and early 20th centuries were the targets of religious persecution and xenophobia at the hands of a Protestant establishment. Back then, many believed the nation was in crisis because of the perceived menace of the Catholic Church to American values.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we see Catholic immigrants from Latin America receiving second-class treatment from other "evangelical Catholics." Last year, when Jindal opposed the placement of unaccompanied immigrant children in the homes of Louisianians, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge had this to say: "Catholics particularly should help these children. Immigrant Catholics were at one time unwelcome in our nation and considered a threat to our way of life. Such intolerance is just as wrong today as it was last century."
Catholics of Louisiana, we have a choice. We can follow the divisive path of Gov. Jindal's "evangelical Catholicism." Or, in the words of Pope Francis, we can pursue a "new balance" that will restore "the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel." Who is your religious leader? Bobby Jindal or Pope Francis?
Michael Pasquier, a parishioner of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, is associate professor of Religious Studies and History at Louisiana State University.
Local and national media outlets have highlighted the rally's affiliation with the American Family Association (AFA). The AFA describes itself "as one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations ... on the front lines of America's culture war." The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the AFA as a hate group for its vitriolic position against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Many of LSU's students, teachers and alumni have expressed dissatisfaction with university administrators for permitting a hate group to sponsor a religious gathering on campus. Many other Louisianians plan to attend the prayer rally, largely because of their alignment with the views of Jindal and the AFA on matters of faith and society.
Neither of these responses to "The Response" should come as a surprise. For better or for worse, this is the state we live in.
According to a Pew Research survey on the U.S. religious landscape, 31 percent of Louisianians identify themselves as evangelical Protestants (Baptists and Methodists, mostly), while 28 percent call themselves Catholic.
Jindal, a self-described "evangelical Catholic," epitomizes the political and religious coalition of evangelical Protestants and Catholics in Louisiana.
"Evangelical Catholicism," if we are to use Jindal's phrase, is a peculiarly American creation. It's a version of Catholicism with roots in the anti-communist movement of the post-World War II era, when prominent Catholics like Bishop Fulton Sheen adopted a style of pro-America rhetoric that matched Protestant revivalists like Billy Graham. This partnership was codified in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, as Jerry Falwell launched his "Moral Majority" and quickly discovered that Catholics comprised roughly a third of the political action group's membership.
Prominent politicians have continued to embrace this brand of Catholicism, including lifelong Catholic Rick Santorum and Catholic converts Jindal, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich and Sam Brownback. Then there are non-Catholic politicians like Mike Huckabee -- a former Baptist minister and governor of Arkansas -- who reacted to the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate with the announcement, "Thanks to President Obama, we are all Catholics now."
It's hard to imagine Pope Francis ever attending "The Response." Unlike the organizers of the prayer rally, the pope doesn't endorse American exceptionalism, creationism, biblical literalism or the rapture. He also doesn't encourage AFA-style animosity toward LGBT people. Asked about his position on homosexuality, the pope responded, "If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge? They shouldn't be marginalized." Compare this to Jindal's defense of the AFA's support for "The Response," an organization with a leader that believes "being an active homosexual should disqualify you from public office."
But more telling, American Catholics don't share the same history as evangelical Protestants. A church of immigrants, Catholics in the 19th and early 20th centuries were the targets of religious persecution and xenophobia at the hands of a Protestant establishment. Back then, many believed the nation was in crisis because of the perceived menace of the Catholic Church to American values.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we see Catholic immigrants from Latin America receiving second-class treatment from other "evangelical Catholics." Last year, when Jindal opposed the placement of unaccompanied immigrant children in the homes of Louisianians, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge had this to say: "Catholics particularly should help these children. Immigrant Catholics were at one time unwelcome in our nation and considered a threat to our way of life. Such intolerance is just as wrong today as it was last century."
Catholics of Louisiana, we have a choice. We can follow the divisive path of Gov. Jindal's "evangelical Catholicism." Or, in the words of Pope Francis, we can pursue a "new balance" that will restore "the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel." Who is your religious leader? Bobby Jindal or Pope Francis?
Michael Pasquier, a parishioner of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, is associate professor of Religious Studies and History at Louisiana State University.
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