Politicians invoke God and the Bible both because it works, and in cases like that of Governor Sanford who compared himself to King David, because it nourishes their outsized egos — situating their personal dramas within a cosmically significant narrative. It works, because whether the politicians themselves are truly religious or not, we Americans are true believers.
We may like church and synagogue less and less, as recent polling suggests, but our faith in God and love of both biblical language and stories endures. And why not? They really are some of the greatest stories ever told, regardless of what we may think about their status as divinely revealed literature.
Ultimately, the use of such language tells us more about ourselves than it does about the misbehaving politicos. The passage of time is the only way to tell if they are sincere or simply pandering because we never fully know what’s going on inside of another person. In fact, how often do we really know what’s going on inside ourselves?
We make decisions all the time about each other’s words of remorse and acts of contrition, but until someone finds themselves in the same position once again, there is no way to know the full meaning of their repentance. Even when we commit the same transgression again, it doesn’t necessarily mean that our previous apology was insincere. It might simply mean that we couldn’t deliver as we hoped that we would when we confessed our past misdeeds. This is not proof of hypocrisy. It could just as easily indicate that our moral/ethical reach exceeds our grasp.
While genuine understanding of the complex dynamics between remorse, apology and repentance is no excuse for bad behavior, it is a reason to judge each other, and even our elected officials, with both a commitment to justice, and a measure of mercy. Since the Bible celebrates both of those values, perhaps it is we who should invoke the Bible even more than the politicians when it comes to matters of public misdeeds and the proper response to them.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
posted July 1, 2009 at 3:33 pm
“Why Do Politicians Invoke God When Apologizing?”
Because like you said, it works, especially for Republican politicans. Well it works for the straight ones.
And we the voters tend to not look beyond the superficial. Heaven forbid we look at things such as a candidate’s record as opposed to whether or not he simply pretends to believe as we do for political and financial gain.
posted July 1, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Are you marry if not you shall burn / If your not marry to Jesus Christ you shall burn Amen
posted July 1, 2009 at 9:27 pm
The Prophet Daniel am I sent by are Lord to forfil matthew 24.I live in S.C. because am black force out of Org. like Meals on Wheels because was a black minisrty to the poor and elderly. I was a Volutree for S.C. Karios prison minisrty was force out after 13mos because I was black the only blackman from the street. I just wanted to the tell the truth about are Lord and savior Jesus Christ to the resident. But because the white team member wanted to be all white and because they were giving gift the the white resident and putting money on there book. I told the gov. sanford He did nothing. God is good
posted July 2, 2009 at 12:06 am
“Why Do Politicians Invoke God When Apologizing?”
Why? Because if you invoke “god”, well the person is obviously repentant about the situation. It sounds good to the peasants and it’s all appearance. In politics, appearance is everything, even if the only thing one is sorry for is getting caught, appearance is everything.
posted July 2, 2009 at 10:22 am
Why do people ever invoke God? It’s a way to abdicate personal responsiblity (the things we can control) and our fear of meaninglessness (the things we can’t). “Situating their personal dramas within a cosmically significant narrative” if about as cogent a definition of religion I have ever read (although I would substitute “fiction” for “narrative”).
posted July 2, 2009 at 11:04 am
I think it is because they have observed that if you invoke God your listeners are more likely to forgive you. But no one can see into there hearts to see if they ment forgive me for being caught in the act or if they are truly sorry for the act.
posted July 2, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I’d like to think that at least one of thes public displays of contrition grew from a a profound sense of error and a real desire for change. I’d welcome evidence of this.
But in the recent parade of apologies, it seems to me that the “God-speak” is simply a code that says “I’m one of you” to the audience. And statistics (cited in Steven Waldman’s blog, I believe) show that the right-wing religious are more likely to commit adultery, watch pornography, and divorce. So maybe the politician is simply a reflection of his supporters. It’s a sad situation.
posted July 2, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Perhaps the reason why politicians seek to wrap themselves in the cloak of the Bible is because they, like too many voters, have not read much of it. Perhaps Gov. Sanford would reconsider comparing himself if he knew about the later stages of the story of King David. The later parts of the Kind David story shows that he suffered greatly as punishment for his earlier transgressions.
posted July 2, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Why? Because God is the final authority — which should be the correct answer. But politicians only invoke God when it furthers their secular causes. Confession and forgiveness should be quiet and humble. But the “I have sinned” moments feed the narcissism for attention starved people like Sanford.