Speaking Up On Warren Invocation

Another voice long known for intelligent leadership in extension of rights to all individuals, Kathryn Kolbert of People for the American Way, has spoken out about Rick Warren's giving the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

The announcement that Pastor Rick Warren has been chosen to give the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony landed with a thud in my inbox.

Many people who know Warren as the affable megachurch pastor and best-selling author may be confused about the anger and disappointment that his selection has generated among progressive activists who worked so hard to help elect Obama. Here's my explanation; you can find plenty of other voices online.

Warren enjoys a reputation as a bridge-building moderate based on his informal style and his church's engagement on issues like AIDS in Africa.

He took grief from some of his Religious Right colleagues when he invited then-Senator Obama to his church for a conference on AIDS a couple of years ago. And, in August he hosted presidential candidates Obama and McCain at his church.

Warren has worked hard to cultivate a moderate public personality but his views are very similar to those of traditional Religious Right leaders.In an email sent before the 2004 election he wrote a Falwell-esque message proclaiming that, for Christian voters, the issues of abortion, marriage for same-sex couples, stem cell research, cloning and euthanasia were "non-negotiable." In fact, he said, they are "not even debatable because God's word is clear on these issues."

And while some Religious Right leaders were nervous that Warren would give Obama a platform to talk about poverty and the environment at the August event, Warren thrilled them by eschewing those issues entirely in order to emphasize issues like abortion and marriage that worked to McCain's advantage with the evangelical audience.
(snip)
...Warren has been divisive and dishonest on the issues of marriage equality and religious freedom -- and on other issues important to many Obama supporters, as well.

I will repeat what I said this morning in comments at Eschaton:
Televangelists are the worst sort of vultures, using a pose of religiosity to rake in profits from the weakminded, always has been a particularly offensive sort, and to put one up at the inauguration is an insult to actual 'values'. There are a lot of real theologians of eminence in this country who ought to be letting Obama know that this demeans every real believer, every churchgoing person in the U.S.