Saturday, July 4, 1998

U.S. faces divisions over role of religion

By Tom Schaefer

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

When President Clinton visited a government-approved, Protestant church in Beijing last Sunday, he spoke warmly of the growth of Christianity in China.

His brief remarks were welcomed by the 2,000 members who lined up early in the morning to get a seat for the service.

True religious freedom, as we know, is not a right allowed in that nation of 1.2 billion people. Since 1949, when the communists took power, religion has been kept in check by government policies that restrict the number of churches and the ways in which believers may practice their faith.

Such policies, however, haven't prevented countless small, illegal "house churches" from springing up. Christians, often evangelicals, gather regularly for worship. These groups, along with Catholics who insist that the pope is their leader and whose churches are not officially approved, often face police harassment and arrests.

That's the situation of religious freedom - or, more to the point, the lack of it - in the most populous nation on Earth.

On this Fourth of July, when we celebrate the many freedoms we have in this country, it's hard to imagine our losing such a freedom. After all, emigration from Europe to America in the 17th and 18th centuries was, in part, a desire by people to escape religious persecution and to practice their faith as they would choose.

The framework of our nation was built upon a belief that we are a people of faith - many faiths - who want to live unencumbered by state-imposed rules and government regulations on our churches.

But increasingly, many are wondering how well the framework is holding together. Arguments over prayer in public schools, religious symbols on public property and the religious influence on political platforms often create more heat than light.

In an earlier time, religious differences in this country were confronted by those within the Christian faith - Baptists disagreeing with Methodists, Lutherans quarreling with Catholics, and so on. As recently as 40 years ago, fears were raised over whether a Roman Catholic - who some thought might take orders from the pope - should be elected to the highest office in the land. Anymore, it's doubtful that a similar fear would arise.

Today, the Christian faith, while still dominant in this country, must now relate to a pluralism of beliefs - Islam, Buddhism, New Age spiritualism, to name a few. For example, if prayer were to be mandated in public schools, the key question wouldn't be whether a Catholic priest should pray at a school's graduation one year and a Protestant the next. Rather, it would be: Should we pray at all at such a function?

Whichever way the question is answered, the battle between those who advocate a resurgence of Christian influence on public institutions and those who contend against any such religious intrusion never seems to be settled. Instead, the lines are more deeply drawn, the anger more focused and intense.

Earlier this week, President Clinton obliquely raised in public the issue of religious freedom in China, although one hopes he was more direct in private conversations with President Jiang Zemin. What's striking about this issue is how each nation struggles to express and repress it at the same time.

In China, opportunities to worship are achieved through great odds and in the face of great dangers. Only churches approved by the government may officially exist. And the question lingers: Will that nation one day be open to a diversity of religious expressions, allowing its people to worship without fear of reprisals or persecution?

In this country, the relationship between religious beliefs and public behavior has not been settled. Efforts to expunge Christian symbols or rituals from government institutions often lead to greater divisions among people. What we have yet to answer is: Will our nation one day be able to unite around a common understanding of our heritage and the role religion plays in it, thereby enabling us to accept one another without rancor or suspicion?

It's a perilous challenge for political leaders who cannot suppress or ignore forever the importance of religious beliefs in people's public lives.

On this Fourth of July, pray for our nation - and for all the nations and leaders of the world.

(Tom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle. Write to him at the Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201, or send e-mail to tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com )