Rick Warren is a bigot. He is prepared to use the power of the American government to strip American citizens of basic civil rights and human dignities. His advocacy of Proposition 8 reflects a clear, appalling, and aggressive attack on gay men and lesbians. As a person of faith and as a citizen in a representative democracy I am utterly disgusted by Obama's choice of Rick Warren for the inauguration. Obama has chosen a man who willfully deploys the Bible as a weapon against those with whom he disagrees. He opposes women's right to reproductive choice and same-sex couples right to marital choice. By bowing his head under Warren's words, Obama is tacitly consenting to this distressing religious and political world view. My assessment of Warren does not mean I think he should be silenced, which is how many on the Right treated Reverend Jeremiah Wright. I believe Rick Warren has a right to speak publicly and to shepherd his own church and followers as he sees fit. I believe in religious diversity and religious dissent. I believe in these things for both sacred and secular reasons.
I believe God is ineffable, unknowable, and universal, so no one person, church, or faith tradition has monopoly on understanding the divine. Our inter-religious dialogue is part of how we grapple with the Mystery. I welcome Rick Warren to sit at any table where people of various faiths and beliefs can exchange ideas. Active dissent in religious communities is part of a vibrant civil society that generates a healthy democracy.
My opposition to Warren is specific. I believe a man who opposed same-sex marriage with the vehemence and public organizing of Warren should not offer the prayer at the inauguration. The inauguration belongs to all Americans. It is a moment of national unity. It is a symbolic rendering of our peaceful, democratic transitions of leadership. It is an assertion of our collective identity rising above our partisan disagreements. It is not a time for division.
http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/
Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell
