The Faith Factor

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Over the past nearly three years, Bush has appeared to invoke a divine mandate as he promises to "rid the world of the evildoers." But at the same time, he explicitly rejects the notion that he is waging a holy war. "This is not a clash of religions," he said recently in Colorado. "The faith of Islam teaches moral responsibility that ennobles men and women and forbids the shedding of innocent blood. Instead, this is a clash of political visions." That was not the first time Bush had trod carefully to avoid a tone of Christian triumphalism. He has consistently referred to Islam as a religion of peace "hijacked" by the terrorists, has been host to Ramadan dinners at the White House and has annoyed Evangelicals by declaring that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. The morning Saddam was captured Bush skipped church out of concern that his presence might be seen as gloating. In general, he avoids using words like Lord, preferring Almighty and Providence.

But at some point he risks becoming trapped in contradiction when he tries to separate the jihadists from the God in whose name they fight. Many Americans who support the war on terrorism do so because they view al-Qaeda and its ilk as an implacable enemy anchored in a radical, though by no means typical, Muslim faith, willing to strap on explosives and blow up a nightclub because of a vision of heaven and earth and right and wrong that we may not understand but can't just ignore. It is as though Bush can't allow the possibility that the enemy is motivated by its understanding of God's will lest his critics note that he believes the same of himself. So he portrays the terrorists as heirs of the Nazis and communists: totalitarian in vision, cynical by nature, manipulative in their appeal, certainly not devout. They "couch their language in religious terms. But that doesn't make them religious people," he told a group of religion writers late last month. "I think they conveniently use religion to kill." There are sound, practical reasons for resisting the Holy War framework, but winning a war also depends on knowing your enemy.

A NATION DIVINELY DIVIDED

There are still five months left until Election Day, but the path is clear. "This is rapidly becoming the most religiously infused political campaign in modern history," says Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and adds that both parties are responsible. Even the irreverent Howard Dean rushed off to go to church with Jimmy Carter the day before the Iowa caucuses. "Americans want political leaders to have a moral center, but I do not think that Americans expect the President to also be their national pastor," says Lynn.