The Faith & Politics Institute held a lunch for elected officials the entire purpose of which was having them talk about the importance of faith in their lives.
Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights hero and member of Congress, declared that "my involvement in civil rights was an extenion of my faith." It was his faith, he said, that kept him going after being beaten unconscious duirng civil rights drives. It reminds me, African Americans have made it permissible for Democrats to mix faith and politics, by reminding them that faith-driven passion isn't only associated with causes they don't like (anti-gay, anti-abortion) but also those they cherish (civil rigths). Rev. J. Cletus Kiley, the president of the Faith & Politics Institute said that in fact the way they got white members of Congress in touch with their inner life was taking them on a field trip of key places of the civil rights movement. It didn't escape notice that many of the key landmarks with churches.
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I used to go to church with the late Barbara Jordan. I did not have the impression she was unpracticed in speaking of her faith. Maybe what's different is that media is noticing.
It's significant that John Lewis' connection between faith and civil rights extends to his support for gay rights. Lewis is one of the most outspoken advocates for gay rights in Congress. As Barney Frank is fond of saying, the most loyal and vocal supporters of gay rights in Congress are the members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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