Think of it as a kind of “small-t” end of the year tradition here at GetReligion.
Toward the end of the annual podcast addressing the Top 10 religion-news events of the year — this year it’s “Oh-so familiar Top 10 religion stories list (with a few exceptions)” — host Todd Wilken always asks me the same question, one built on the assumption that journalists have some ability to see into the future. In other words, he asks something like, “What do you think will be the big religion stories of 2020?”
Like I said in the podcast post last week, news consumers can almost always count on the following:
* Some event or trend linked to politics and this often has something to with evangelicals posing a threat to American life.
* Mainline Protestants gathered somewhere to fight over attempts to modernize doctrines linked to sex and marriage.
* The pope said something headline-worthy about some issue linked to politics or sexuality.
* Someone somewhere attacked lots of someones in the name of God. …
You can’t go wrong with that list — especially with all of the ink being spilled, again, over Citizen Donald Trump and the great big monolithic “evangelical” vote.
However, there’s another political story that has, in the past three decades, become almost as predictable. It is, of course, the fill-in-the-blanks political feature about the rise (again) of the religious left (lower-case status) in the Democratic Party to do combat with the Religious Right (upper-case status).
These days, there is a bigger story that looms in the background of that old standard. Think of it as the Democrats trying to make peace with the religious middle in the age of the growing coalition of atheists, agnostics and the “Nones” (religiously unaffiliated). This coalition is now the most powerful religion-related power bloc in that party. The big question: How will this coalition, which includes the least religious congregation of Americans, get along with another crucial grassroots group — African-American churchgoers, who are among the most religious people in our culture.
That brings us to this weekend’s think piece, care of advocacy journalism team at The Daily Beast, that ran with this headline: “Mayor Pete Turns to God to Win Over Black Supporters.” Here is the overture:
As Mayor Pete Buttigieg kickstarts his campaign to win over African-American voters who are skeptical of his spotty track record on issues of concern to black communities — or who are entirely unfamiliar with him at all — the millennial mayor is returning to one of the touchstones of his early campaign: his faith.
“It's not for nothing that a lot of my experiences even back home addressing black voters, specifically, is in church,” Buttigieg recently told reporters aboard his campaign bus in New Hampshire, in response to a question about what “clicks” with African-American audiences. “Knowing how important an organizing principle faith is in so many black families, in so many parts of the black community.”
Buttigieg, more than any other candidate seeking the Democratic nomination, has emphasized his identity as a Christian as part of his appeal to voters who, at first glance, might not feel like they have a lot in common with the white millennial mayor from the Midwest. In a series of appearances in front of predominantly black audiences across the American South … Buttigieg frequently leaned into his Episcopalian faith as a way to connect with black voters who have been, until recently, an afterthought for his campaign.
A style point here: “Episcopalian” is the noun form of that word, while “Episcopal” is the adjective. In other words, Mayor Pete is an Episcopalian who actively practices his Episcopal faith.
Moving on.
Now, what is the big topic that is missing in that overture — that is, if you know anything about the black church in America and its approach to the Bible and social issues?
As you would expect, this dividing line is labeled “homophobia,” as opposed to religious beliefs or doctrine among black evangelicals or Pentecostal believers. Here’s a sample of that:
… (F)aith could be a useful method to introduce him as a candidate, particularly as a gay candidate. A Politico/Morning Consult poll published in October found that more voters are wary of supporting a gay candidate than almost any other minority group, with the exception of an atheist, although Buttigieg has aggressively pushed back on the notion that homophobia could be at the root of his lack of support in black communities.
“If you look at look at the most anti-LGBT politicians and policies in recent years, [it’s] mostly white voters bringing them to power,” Buttigieg told reporters on his campaign bus last month.
Did the team that produced this story talk to any active Democrats who are member of doctrinally conservative African-American churches?
What do you think?
Read it all. Many readers will be especially interested in the discussion of “real black voters” vs., well, not-so-real black voters. Might social classes and social issues have something to do with this?