The Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

The Wall Street Journal ^ | October 17, 2003 | DANIEL HENNINGER

[Tom D.]

PLANO, Texas -- Soon after its decision in Lawrence on private sexual acts between consenting adults of the same gender, the Supreme Court this week decided that next year its bucketful of gasoline for the eternal flames of America's "culture wars" will be to decide the constitutionality of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

[Tom D.]

It is worth the price of an online subscription to the Wall Street Journal to read Daniel Hennigers's column every Friday.

[Arrowhead1952]

How funny you post this article...Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

I just posted to another article

Democrats Hope to Woo 'Bible-Quoting, Gun-Toting' Voters

Posted by kattracks
On 10/17/2003 4:27 AM PDT with 20 comments

The RAT party doesn't tell the same story two days in a row. Choices in the next election will be easy to make.

RATS are liers.

[Kenton]

Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

I prefer "The Godless Left".

Says the same thing, but it's got a nice ring to it, don't ya think? ;P

[only1percent]

This subjedct was written about recently in the Atlantic, but the author drew a quite different conclusion. He pointed to evidence that secularlism is the fastest growing (ir)religious category in the country, and, hence, secularists should be thought of as a key component in the so-called emerging Democratic majority.

[kitkat]

***,,,"that we have people of character in the White House." ***

Good news on a Friday morning.

[prairiebreeze]

I've been thinking of a WSJ on-line subscription. Are you satisfied overall with it and are there several left-leaning articles that get published as well as the frequently insightful ones that are posted on FR?

thanks, Prairie

[The_Victor]

Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

I prefer "The Godless Left".

I like "The Heathen Left," myself.

[randita]

Church based charities use voluntary donations to help people and give God the glory.

Secularists use mandatory taxes to help people and give themselves the glory. It's an approach centered more on self satisfaction and vote buying rather than sincere altruism.

[bluecollarman]

New "under God" Song see what you think, and take the poll.

[SmokyGeo]

I prefer "The Godless Left".

I don't think it's appropriate to attack anyone's religion or apparent lack of it. Many leftists are decent folks who do a lot personally to help others, and not all of them are unchurched. Jimmy Carter wasn't the greatest of presidents or the clearest of thinkers, but I still think he has a good heart.

[Kenton]

I don't think it's appropriate to attack anyone's religion or apparent lack of it. Many leftists are decent folks who do a lot personally to help others, and not all of them are unchurched. Jimmy Carter wasn't the greatest of presidents or the clearest of thinkers, but I still think he has a good heart.

Oh, I'd agree with you on all counts. I just think that considering their demonization of conservative Christians, they deserve a little labeling themselves, if for no other reason than to point out the biases they take for granted.

[fml]

---Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

I prefer "The Godless Left".

I like "The Heathen Left," myself.---


I just hate the left.

[300winmag]

Democratic Party: Home of the Non-Religious Left

I see it more as "anti-religious left". Any religion that will not subordinate itself to the democRAT party will be vilified. Much of that vilification is now so common and casual that it seems like second nature. Nobody gives it a second thought.

As this article points out, the "religious right" (as named by the left) spends most of its time in activities that are much like that of concerned, caring, and active agnostics and athiests. Yet the right is "profiled" continuously as some sort of alien organization working towards the overthrow of America. Communists in the 1950s did not receive this kind of pervasive coverage. Even today, you'll see a hundred hit pieces on "Christianity in the public square" before you see one on islam.

It's not that the left thinks these Christians support bad policies. That's already self-evident to them. Rather, it's that these political opinions come from a system that insists that there is a higher power than the federal government. That is worse than blasphemy to the left, and people who do not acknowledge their god must be ridiculed and marginalized.

The left, and the RAT party, have been hostile to all non-compliant religions since FDR. It infuriates them when RATs lose elections, because they feel it's "religious" people, and not their own stupid policies, that cause their losses. Their fury is just increased because "the religious" also believe, for purely secular reasons, in keeping guns, too.

[sergeantdave]

Democrats have a religion. It's called the Marxist state.

[LiteKeeper]

INTSUM

[only1percent]

The Wall Street Journal's news coverage (as distinct from editorial) is first rate and scrupulously non-partisan. They are as likely to publish a story you might read as "left-leaning" as is the Washington Post, but far less likely to do so than the openly biased New York Times or Los Angeles Times.

The editorial page is staunchly conservative, with a very nice blend of libertarian-leaning and traditional-values-leaning writing. I'd say the one conservative constituency which is poorly represented (and regularly attacked) on the editorial page is the Pat Buchannan-style nativism ... the Editorial Board loves immigration and free trade and is only now showing the smallest sympathy to concerns for outsourcing and deskilling of the American workforce.

[only1percent]

I see it more as "anti-religious left"

With all due respect, I think that this gloss would be quite wrong. The most influential segment of this class is simply, and profoundly, non-religious. In my circle of 30-something friends in media, finance and law, the general attitude toward religion is that it is a hobby which they don't engage in -- sort of like model railroading. These aren't hippies either -- they are married, homeowning, families with good educations and jobs, who look and act entirely conventionally.

They don't identify themselves as atheist or agnostic, nor do they particularly oppose religion. They simply don't regard religious belief or practice as necessary, interesting, or relevant to their lives. They appreciate the ceremonial aspect of religion (they get married in churches, mostly), but that's it.

The most important point is that they aren't going to vote Democratic, or decline to vote Republican, out of fear or disdain of religion, unless something about it is specifically made out to threaten something of value to them.

[truthchaser]

The term Christian "fundamentalist" always seems to come up and draws consistent ire and loathing from the liberal establishments and the anti-religious left. But at the core, isn't a "fundamentalist" just one who believes that there are absolute truths in this world, that there is a right and wrong, that morality is not relative, and yes that some people's beliefs and behaviors are just plain wrong? That is infuriating to the secularist, condemned as intolerant or even hateful. It is scorned by academia as being not intellectual. In the end, it is the left which is consistently intolerant of what they don't agree with, and quick to cast the fundamentalist beliefs as absolutely wrong.

[Zack Nguyen]

In last fall's Public Interest quarterly, political scientists Louis Bolce and Gerald De Maio of Baruch College at the City University of New York argued in "Our Secularist Democratic Party" that the clearest indicator of party affiliation and voting patterns now is whether one is churched or unchurched, believer or agnostic.

This is true. I first read about the phenomenon in a Michael Barone piece two years ago.

America is in a culture war, and like all wars over values it is religious in nature.

[Zack Nguyen]

The problem is that Christianity in the public sphere is being vigorously attacked. The secular humanists are not tolerant of Christianity.