Former Sen. Gary Hart delivered a biting criticism of the religious right yesterday afternoon, claiming that extremist evangelicals misrepresent their values to gain the support of "mainstream Christians."
Hart, a Democrat from Colorado, said that when the religious right says, " 'We believe in faith and values,' they are talking about evangelical Christian values. When they make them that vague, they are making others believe they have the same faith and values."
The lecture, titled "God and Caesar in America," is part of the Center for the Study of Religion's "Crossroads of Religion and Politics" series. Hart adapted the lecture from a 2005 essay he wrote on what he perceived as the religious right's control of the Republican party and public policy.
Hart served in the Senate from 1975 to 1987 and ran for the Democratic party's presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. He bowed out of the 1988 race after reporters from The Miami Herald caught him cheating on his wife.
Hart grew up in a religious family belonging to the Church of Nazarene, an evangelical Methodist denomination. In his lecture, Hart highlighted attempts to infuse religion into the nation's military, citing complaints from a former constituent in Colorado who said his son, a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy, was pressured to attend a bible study session there.
"There is a persistent effort to evangelize and proselytize amongst the military of the United States," Hart said, adding that he considers this a result of the resurgence of imperialism in American politics.
"There is no time in human history when there has been a republic and an empire at the same time, besides Rome," he said.
He mentioned President Bush's use of the word "crusade" to describe the U.S. war in Iraq "until someone got a hold of him and told him that was not the wisest word to use in the region."
Hart contrasted the values of evangelical Christians influencing the government with those of Jesus Christ. "The teachings of the religious right do not align with those of Jesus," he said. "Justice, mercy and humility do not characterize the religious right. Jesus did not say to lobby your senator for a tax cut."
Audience members expressed their concerns regarding the influence of these evangelical perspectives on the current administration.
"I think what's happened is the current administration has polarized the debate [on the separation of church and state]" College of New Jersey religious studies committee chair Celia Chazelle said before the lecture.
A question and answer period following the lecture raised inquiries as to religion's divisive nature in the United States relative to other nations.
By the time the United States was founded, "many of the wars between church and state in European countries had already been settled," Hart said.
"I just wanted to hear the position of someone who was more experienced in politics," said Linda Pickering, a Princeton resident who is auditing POL 309: Politics and Religion.
In an interview after the lecture, Hart declined to comment on the role of universities in general in the debate on the division of church and state. "I don't see Princeton University issuing decrees like the Pope," he said.
"Enlightened democracy is a forum for discussion and debate, but [it is] not [a forum for] issuing decrees about what the role of religion should be."
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