The Sounds of Silence

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In a recent issue, Matt Malone, editor of America Magazine, passed along a joke about his religious order, the Jesuits, who have a reputation for being highly educated, sophisticated and presumably, religious.

“If you buy a Jesuit a drink, he’ll talk to you about anything,” wrote Malone. “If you buy him two, he’ll talk to you about Jesus.”

Most of us have the notion that religion is, and should be, a private matter. We’re irritated, and even embarrassed, if someone brings religion into an otherwise secular conversation. The more society becomes estranged from religion, the more likely that is. As indicated by Malone’s joke, even religious professionals hesitate to bring faith into a conversation.  

Why are we so reluctant to talk about our faith, or even faith in general?

May Cause Discomfort
There are lots of answers. Among them is the traditional reluctance to bring up religion or politics because they’re controversial and may cause discomfort or conflict in another or in a social context. This is understandable, and may be even wise is some circumstances.

It’s surely a sign of wisdom to know when to speak and when to hold your tongue. But isn’t it a sign of cowardice to be silent in the face of attacks on faith or even worse, on people or classes of people - such as the poor and marginalized - that our faith pledges to defend?

We may pass off our silence as tolerance, but there’s a fine line between tolerance and cowardice.

As a society, we’re rightly suspicious of attempts at conversion, and those who have attended public schools have a special appreciation for the need to be careful about wearing your religion on your sleeve. Open mindedness is encouraged, though not extended to religious expression.

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But if something means a lot to you – a movie, book or experience – wouldn’t you want to talk about it and encourage others to share it? Yes, it seems, except in the case of religion.

I read an article recently in which the writer complained that someone was injecting his “subjective religious beliefs” into the presidential campaign, and it brought to mind an issue with which I often struggle. Many people are uncomfortable when one’s political views are shaped by their religious convictions. It’s interpreted as “shoving your religious beliefs down others’ throats.” But why shouldn’t religious beliefs shape political views, just as liberalism or conservatism does?

Should believers keep their religion to themselves when they are contemplating or commenting on politics? Do the teachings of Jesus, or that of the Hebrew Bible, become irrelevant at their juncture with social and political issues?

Fact is, the Judeo-Christian tradition has a lot to say about issues that are discussed – and are often highly controversial – in the public domain.

Pope Francis, for instance, recently spoke again against the death penalty, saying that all nations should abolish it. Joseph Fiorenza, writing in the online magazine, Religion and Politics, wrote that the pope, arguing that it is “unreasonable and wrong to support state-approved killing as a deterrent to killing,” is motivated by “the inalienable dignity of human life,” a gospel value. Because it is also a political issue, should believers stay silent?

Citing the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and the Koran, thousands of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people of faith have marched, prayed, and protested in support of immigration reform.

Welcoming the Stranger
“Our Church,” says a statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “has responded to Christ’s call for us to ‘welcome the stranger among us,’ for in this encounter with the immigrant, the migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.”

Why shouldn’t religious views motivate the politics of believers and people searching for God? One of the reasons religion turns people off, after all, is the perception that believers don’t put into practice what they preach. Perhaps the real question is why religion doesn’t provide more of an incentive for political views.

There is an element of guile in all of this, of course. It’s OK for religion to motivate political views when those views are in agreement with ours, we may believe. It’s fine in the case of capital punishment, immigration and the economy, “liberals” may say, but not in issues such as abortion, birth control and assisted suicide. “Conservatives” may have a contrary position.

What good is a faith that isn’t reflected in people’s real lives, including their political lives? And how important is faith to people who are determined to keep it to themselves?