God-o-Meter first noticed it around the time of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Civil Forum John McCain and Barack Obama last month, when Warren talked about wanting to get a sense of the candidates’ “world views.”
World view. It’s certainly not a term that’s exclusive to the evangelical Christian lexicon. But it seems to God-o-Meter that it has special resonance within in the evangelical subculture. Focus on the Family talks a good deal about it in its materials. Go to worldview.org and you’ll find the web site of a Christian academy. It’s not unusual to hear about evangelical activists talk about the battle of biblical vs. secular worldviews.
With Sarah Palin, a nondenominational Christian with a Pentecostal past and seemingly evangelical leanings, in the race, the term is entering the political lexicon more and more.
In Palin’s recent interview with ABC News’s Charlie Gibson, for example, John McCain’s running mate mentioned her “world view” in response to a question about the role of God in foreign policy:
GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”
PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That, in my world view, is a grand — the grand plan.
Later on in the interview, Palin jumped on a question about George W. Bush by bringing up the term again:
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
GIBSON: The Bush — well, what do you — what do you interpret it to be?
PALIN: His world view.
It sounded like Palin may have been about to summarize Bush’s worldview–and to agree with it. Palin went on to say that “I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation.”
So Palin connected “world view” with a religious issue–the fight against Islamic extremism. It’s no secret that that issues has special resonance among evangelical Christians.
Bush himself has used the term “world view” in discussing his own vision for the war on terror:
Let me give you my world view on this. Like you, I’d like them home. I really do. But my decisions have been based on my — or at least my belief that what we’re seeing is one of the — a great ideological struggle between forces of ration — rational behavior, decent people, lovers of liberty, versus radicals who have a belief system and they’re willing to murder the innocent to achieve — to advance their objectives. That’s how I view it. I don’t think you’re a religious person if you murder the innocent to achieve political objectives. I think you’re a person who is manipulative and cynical and willing to kill in the name of religion; I don’t think you’re religious.
So was Palin trying to get behind Bush’s world view as a way of connecting with the evangelicals who famously backed him record numbers in 2004?
Last night, on 60 Minutes John McCain brought up Palin’s worldview in discussing foreign policy:
Pelley: But foreign affairs and the economy, those are things that people are concerned about.
McCain: First of all, anybody who’s governed a state has some economic experience. And by the way, she cut taxes. The second thing is she shares the world view that I have.
Was McCain using the term to gain evangelical street cred from Palin just as Palin might have been using it to establish a connection to Bush and to subtly connect with evangelicals?
6
posted September 22, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Why, exactly, did this lower Obama by a point? This article is almost completely about Palin. Obama’s only mention is his name in the first sentence of the article.
posted September 22, 2008 at 2:39 pm
And by the way, did you notice this:
http://coloradoindependent.com/8807/evangelical-leader-smacks-mccain-for-lack-of-principle
posted September 22, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Yes, world view is code for “Christian Worldview” AND “Wall St. greed” is Christian, anti-semitic code for “Jewish bankers.” God help us!
posted September 23, 2008 at 6:29 pm
It’s sad that they would even say that because I’m apart of this world and I’m not christain. To come to think of it why is it that christains are always wanting to push their beliefs on everyone else? I bet the “New World Order” they are speaking against in the bible…you know the mark of the beast…will probably be founded by a christain; …so I should say that none of this surprises me.
posted September 24, 2008 at 8:46 am
I believe everyone has a world view, that is, a way they see the world through the lens of their beliefs. That could be politically liberal or conservative, religiously liberal or conservative, optimistically, pessimistically, etc. It is colored by their upbringing and environment. People vote based on their world view. Everyone wants everyone else to share their world view because they believe it is best or else they wouldn’t embrace it in the first place. That’s human nature. Taking that into consideration, I think it is safe to say that everyone could be seen as pushing their world view on others. There’s certainly a lot of anti-semitism in the world, but it sounds like there’s a lot of anti-Christian bigotry going on as well. Funny how people turn around and behave exactly the same way they accuse others of behaving.
posted September 24, 2008 at 9:31 am
Melissa writes about McCain/Palin’s use of ‘World View’:
Does it matter that you’re not Christian and that they’re not speaking explicity to you by using that worldview term? Is it OK for politicians/elected officials to sometimes use terminology that connects with certain constituencies if it doesn’t harm other constituencies?
posted September 24, 2008 at 9:48 am
Dear God-o-meter,
I’m surprised at you! Unless you’re justing prompting responses. What about a term like “states rights?” Used by Reagan (and many many before him)? Or a term the Nazis loved, like “cosmopolitan?” I especially don’t think that “code-speak” is helpful when it comes from very powerful interest groups, like the Republican Party! Or any powerful interest group, for that matter. Doesn’t “family values” usually mean an anti-gay agenda?
posted September 25, 2008 at 8:00 am
A major premise In Toxicology is that everything can be a poison, all depends on the dose.
So, with outmost generosity I suggest to those engaged in overdosing with Liberal Kool-aid to be careful. Your drinking habits are making sound silly. This whole excuse for an article (a waste of space an effort) is an example of it.
You wrote: “So Palin connected “world view” with a religious issue–the fight against Islamic extremism. It’s no secret that that issues has special resonance among evangelical Christians”.
Flash news to all of you: it is factual that Islamic extremists abuse religion and use it as a recruiting and sustaining tool, and it is factual that they abuse religion to kill people. But it seems you have forgotten it.
I am not going to suggest that you end up vomiting your lunch or breakfast, so I will not suggest you go watch the Islamic extremist videos of the actual beheadings of Nick Berg, Eugene Armstrong, Paul Johnson, Jack Kensley, Kim Sun or Ken Bigley (or many others). But you should bring to mind the innumerable victims of the Islamic extremists (not only the September 11 victims, but the thousands of Muslim people they have killed).
Like we did with the Nazi, Islamic Extremists should be confronted and defeated, not because they are Muslims, but because they are criminals: they murder children, women, men, young and old.
A world view that is intolerant to murderous thugs is called common sense. It is a code of conduct necessary to Liberty, Justice and Peace throughout the World, and for the survival of our civilization (regardless of your Religion).
The rightfulness of that common sense is self-evident…unless you are high on Kool-aid.
posted September 25, 2008 at 8:50 am
Dr. Ed writes:
God-o-Meter was pointing out that McCain/Palin/GOP seem to be using the term “world view” to connect with evangelical Christians. GOM didn’t say there was anything wrong with that.
posted September 25, 2008 at 7:02 pm
To Bobbi and Dr Ed
Your comments were just wonderful, there is nothing I can add to them. They were very thoughtful and cohesive, which I can not say for the orginal article by GOM. Their article was to raise the “ire” of Christians but that didn’t happen. You both spoke eloquently!! Thank you for that!
posted September 29, 2008 at 12:01 pm
There should be no religion mix with politics. Political policy should be driven by fact-based evidence and the “gut-feeling” faith-based policy should be eradicated.