SEPT. 18, 2006

POLITICS
Religion and political corruption

The Republican Party had taken ownership of religious ground and the Democratic Party had awakened to the need to claim votes from people of faith. Then came a wave of financial scandals that affected politicians of both parties, leaving neither side in a position to accuse the other of “a culture of corruption.”

On Sept. 15, 2006, Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) became the first elected official to agree to plead guilty in the congressional corruption probe involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, setting off a new wave of voter disgust. Political pundits said the July defeat of Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition whose opponent in the Georgia primary pounded on his ties to Abramoff, was the first sign of voter backlash against political corruption. Numerous polls indicate that voters are tired of legislators committing crimes and distrust politicians in both parties.

All this has happened at a time when more politicians are overtly talking about their faith and the importance of religion. President Bush has said he sees signs of a “Great Awakening” of spirituality. The increased prominence of religion in the public square, however, has not led to an increase in ethical behavior among political leaders.

Meanwhile, U.S. religious organizations have kept a low profile on an issue that may reshape the face of government leadership. Voters are angry. Will there be a religious response? And what should it be?

Why it matters

Recent ethics investigations and arrests are expected to affect fall elections, and polls show that many Americans would like religious leaders to speak out on public issues.

Questions for reporters

• Should U.S. religious organizations address political scandals? What do clergy and the people in the pews say?
• Is political corruption an indicator of wider, societal corruption or acceptance of unethical behavior? Or, if Americans have come to expect unethical behavior among politicians, what are the implications of that?
• If more politicians are portraying themselves as people of faith, should they be held to higher ethical standards? When a politician strays from previously stated religious standards, what should the religious community’s response be?
• What is the role of forgiveness?
• Does the U.S. political system corrupt people who enter it?

Jump to background

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• J. Philip Wogaman, who recently concluded a stint as interim president and visiting professor of Christian ethics at Iliff School of Theology, is a United Methodist minister who was pastor in Washington, D.C., to President and Mrs. Clinton. His books include Christian Perspectives on Politics: Revised and Expanded (Westminster John Knox, 2000) and From the Eye of the Storm: A Pastor to the President Speaks Out (WJK, 1998). Contact 202-363-3093, jpwogaman@aol.com.
• Ravi Batra is an economics professor at Southern Methodist University and author of The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming January 2007). Batra says journalists should investigate such issues as how political corruption creates poverty and how politicians exploit religion to get elected and then adopt policies to benefit themselves and the wealthy. Contact 214-768-2707, rbatra@smu.edu.
• Ted G. Jelen is a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He studies the role of the Catholic Church in American politics. Jelen says it’s important whether members of different religious groups see partisan differences in the scope of political corruption. Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.nevada.edu.
• C. Melissa Snarr is an assistant professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. She says angles to consider include whether the U.S. political system corrupts basically good politicians who enter it; how, if “love of money is the root of all evil,” Christian denominations are engaging its growing role in politics; and what the role of forgiveness is in politics, especially around issues of corruption. Contact melissa.snarr@vanderbilt.edu.
• Steve Johnson is director of character education at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. The center conducted an Ethics and Leadership Camp for Public Officials June 21-22, 2006 '>. Contact 408-554-6802, sjohnson@scu.edu.
• David Callahan is author of The Cheating Culture: Why More American are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead (Harcourt, 2004) and co-founder of the public policy center Demos. Contact 212-633-1405, dcallahan@demos.org.
• Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. His books include, as editor, Religion and Politics in America: A Conversation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005) and A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003). Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• Michael Josephson is founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition. Contact 310-846-4800, cc@jiethics.org.
• Stephen D. Potts is chairman of the board of directors of the Ethics Resource Center, a nonprofit educational center that tries to strengthen ethical leadership worldwide by providing expertise, research, education and partnerships. He was a member of the Ethics Education Task Force for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and from 1990-2000 he was director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Contact 202-737-2258, steve@ethics.org.
• Joan Claybrook is president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, which has a Congress Watch division. Contact through 202-588-7742, rpleatman@citizen.org.
• E.J. Dionne Jr. is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow for governance studies at the Brookings Institution. His books include, as co-editor, What’s God Got to Do With the American Experiment? (Brookings Institution Press, 2000). Read his July 21, 2006, column about the defeat of Ralph Reed. Contact through kdavis@brookings.edu.
• Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, is the author of The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (HarperCollins, 2006). She founded the Albright Group LLC, chairs the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and teaches at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Contact through Jamie Smith, Albright Group, 202-842-7222, press@TheAlbrightGroupLLC.com.
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s most recent book is Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History and Future (Integrity, 2006). Gingrich has a doctorate in history. Contact him through Washington-based spokesman Rick Tyler, 540-338-1250, ricktyler@newt.org.
• Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus of religious studies at DePaul University and former co-director of the Jesus Seminar, wrote God & Empire (HarperSanFrancisco, forthcoming winter 2007). It compares the first-century Roman Empire with the 21^st-century United States. Contact Maria Meneses, 415-477-4472, maria.meneses@harpercollins.com.
• Joseph Telushkin is a rabbi and author of The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living (Harmony/Bell Tower, 2000) and The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life (Harmony/Bell Tower, 2003). He is also a columnist on ethics for Beliefnet.com. Contact joseph.telushkin@josephtelushkin.com.
• The Rev. Rebecca Larson is director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Division for Church in Society, which publishes a magazine on Lutheran ethics. Contact 773-380-2710, rebecca_larson@elca.org.
• James E. Winkler is general secretary for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society. Part of the GBCS’s mission is to promote “personal, social and civic righteousness.” Contact 202-488-5629, jwinkler@umc-gbcs.org.
• Richard Land is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Barrett Duke is vice president for research and public policy and director of the SBC’s Research Institute of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Contact via Jill Martin 615-782-8417, jmartin@erlc.com.

Background

• For more sources and background, check out 2004 ReligionLink tips on trust, on lying and on business ethics, and a 2003 tip on whether politicians practice what they preach.
• The New York Times tracks news about the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
• Read a Sept. 15, 2006, Associated Press story about U.S. Rep. Bob Ney agreeing to plead guilty. It’s posted by MSNBC.
• Ralph Reed’s defeat in the Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor is seen as the first sign of voter backlash against political corruption, according to a July 20, 2006, Washington Post article.
• Members of Congress who are under ethics investigations have been using campaign funds to pay legal fees, according to a Bloomberg News article published July 20, 2006, by The Washington Post.
• Congress rarely expels members, according to a July 17, 2006, Gannett News Service report published by The Daily World of Opelousas, La.
• Read a May 19, 2006, Washington Post article about the House Ethics Committee’s plans to conduct inquiries into allegations that members of Congress accepted bribes.
• Read an Associated Press story published April 12, 2006, by ABC about voter anger over politics and corruption.