An Interfaith Perspective

On Sunday, August 14, a church in Nashville, Tennessee will host a national simulcast by the Family Research Council titled, "Justice Sunday II." It is a follow-up to the first "Justice Sunday” telecast—a controversial event that featured Senator William Frist, the majority leader of the United States Senate. The advertised speakers include Senator Zell Miller, Tony Perkins and Cathy Cleaver Ruse of the Family Research Council, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum, and Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals.

According to Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and the principal organizer of the event, “Justice Sunday II” will focus on—and these are his words—the Supreme Court's “hostility toward religion and Christianity in particular." At the same time, the event’s subtitle is: "God save the United States and this Honorable Court." While there is nothing wrong with people of faith gathering to talk about the Supreme Court or the nomination process, we must ask how is it that these groups want G-d to save the Court and at the same time see the Court as hostile to religion and Christianity? Is it that they want to save the Court by changing it? Change it how, by making it friendly towards whom? The Family Research Council, Catholic League, Eagle Forum, Focus on the Family and their allies are calling for their brand of Justice, apparently the kind that is practiced on Sunday. The most important question we have to ask is, are they seeking the kind of Justice our faith calls us to pursue, the kind of Justice we seek to practice not just on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but every day?

Before we look at what these groups want and what we mean by seeking Justice, let us pause a moment and contemplate the date they have chosen for their event.

August 14 in the Jewish Calendar this year is Tisha b’Av, the commemoration of the destruction of both of the Hebrew Temples and other devastating events in Jewish history, such as the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and Spain in 1492. It is a major fast day for the Jews and is marked by strict mourning practices and the reading of the Book of Lamentations. Some congregations have the custom of reciting the phrase Baruch dayan emet (“Praised be the true judge”) when called up to read from the Torah on Tisha b’Av, the same phrase recited upon hearing of a death. It is ironic that the Religious/Political Right would choose this holy day to hold the second Justice Sunday.

What is their intention with Justice Sunday? Are they promoting their vision of a “true judge”? Do they really think that a human being, any human being or any nominee to the Supreme Court, can be called a “true judge”? For the Abrahamic traditions, there is only one True Judge, and that is the Almighty. Of course, that does not mean there should not be human judges. Even in the desert, G-d told Moses to set up a judicial system, with military and civil matters handled separately from religious ones. In this country, where people have many different traditions and religious beliefs, we have set up our legal system to be separate from any one religious tradition and any one form of truth, so that all may be treated fairly.

Jewish tradition holds that the destruction of the Temples was a punishment for our sins. Those sins involved the hatred between one human being and the next. The Quran also admonishes people against sowing dissension and obfuscating truth. Trying to impose religious beliefs on those who hold different beliefs is a kind of hatred, a way of sowing dissension. Telling people that the courts, especially the Supreme Court, are hostile to religion and to people of faith when the Courts try to preserve religious freedom is an obfuscation of the truth. Our forebears drew from the best practices of all faiths when they established tolerance and respect for others as a cornerstone of our national polity. They did not act out of a lack of moral courage or conviction; they were acting as those who understood, on their own terms, the lessons of Tisha b’Av.

So what is it that the Family Research Council wants and for whom? Reverend Carlton Veazey, a Baptist minister for 40 years and president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, has warned, as hard as it is for us to believe, that what the Family Research Council and their allies want is a "theocracy" in which United States Senators toe the Religious Right line on confirming President Bush’s nominees or pay the price. The theocracy they envision centers on their interpretation of "family" and "values." The U.S. Supreme Court is portrayed as the font of the moral decay that is destroying America. James Dobson of Focus on the Family regularly rails against the Supreme Court as "arrogant and imperious and determined to redesign the culture according to their own biases and values.” He holds up the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision for special scorn. Roe v. Wade, abortion rights, and women's rights generally are among the favored code words for the America that the Religious Right loves to attack—our America, an America where equality is possible and desirable. Reproductive Justice is an issue on which they hope to divide and conquer.

"Justice Sunday" gave all of us an opportunity to watch the Right at work, stoking fears about change and inciting religious divisiveness. We also had the opportunity to see many Christian and Jewish religious leaders speak out about this divisiveness. Millions of people of faith, and people who profess no faith, are concerned about the direction of our country and the future of a vibrant, inclusive democracy. Decades of progress for minorities, women, religious freedom, the environment, workers' rights, and other issues and groups that had been relatively powerless cannot be lost. Unless we are unified on all of these issues, we are vulnerable.

We look to the nine Justices of the Supreme Court to protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed us in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as they have developed through the last 200 years of precedent and interpretation. We expect, and have a right to demand, that those jurists, put forth as candidates for this lifetime appointment, be people of honor and integrity, dedicated to furthering the cause of Justice and equal protection under the law for all. Are we ready to stand up for Justice?

Tony Perkins, Phyllis Schlafly, and James Dobson may not understand the irony of using Tisha b’Av as the day of their event but you must. In pushing for a Supreme Court that reflects their religious views above the views of others, they seek to coerce and divide the people of America, promoting hatred and committing the very sin for which we were punished and that many of us lament this day. They are on dangerous ground in setting one American against another. They disgrace all faiths and the work that we have done in the interfaith community to establish “common ground” that leads us to higher ground, regardless of political affiliation or faith. We must not join them in this course of action. Indeed, our traditions call on us to stand up to them, to stop them, to oppose their actions, to promote Justice and not hatred. This is the time for courage, not capitulation. In next week’s lectionary, we read from Isaiah 56: “Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice, and do what is right”, And what is the justice we are called to do? We find the answer in the Jewish prophetic text for next week, also from Isaiah 1:17; “Learn to do good, devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged, uphold the rights of the orphan, defend the cause of the widow.” And what does this mean in practice?

• Over 1000 people of many faiths recently joined together for an Interfaith Convocation to highlight the need to feed the hungry. Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and more were all there. Groups like Hunger no More, Bread for the World, America’s Second Harvest (the nation’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization) were on hand to sign people up so they could continue to work for Justice Everyday.

• The faith community has long been involved in the struggle for reproductive freedom. Clergy in the 1960’s were horrified by the injury and death women fell victim to because abortion was illegal, and therefore unsafe. As early as February, 1967, Protestant and Jewish clergy and religious organizations issued a statement to the press, calling existing abortion laws “unduly restrictive, tragically uncharitable and unjust”. By trying to change the laws that were literally killing women, they were working for Justice Everyday.

• By May 1967, American Baptist minister Reverend Howard Moody, assisted by Arlene Carmen, created the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion which quickly spread across the country and included 1400 clergy. The clergy were dedicated to helping women connect with reputable doctors who would provide safe and compassionate care, even though they put themselves at risk of incarceration. They were working for Justice Everyday.

• People of faith are working through the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), to protect the environment. It is a coalition of Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Evangelical Christian organizations that integrates care for God’s creation throughout religious life, theology, worship, social teaching, education, congregations, and public policy initiatives. They are working for Justice Everyday.

• And it is not just the big, organizational actions. Whenever any one of us puts aside evil and seeks to do good, we are part of this mighty stream. We do justice when we volunteer at the soup kitchen, help shovel the walk of our elderly neighbors, take in foster children, contribute to the food pantry, house homeless families in our sanctuaries or volunteer to provide respite to families in hospice care. We do justice when we raise money for domestic violence shelters or put up notices in our washrooms so women know where to go when they need help, when we help a child or an adult learn how to read, how to do their homework, or speak English. We do justice when we register voters, provide faith based sex education and prevent teen pregnancy, HIV/Aids or other sexually transmitted diseases. We are called upon to do Justice and we do Justice Everyday in countless ways!

As people of faith, let us all vow to do Justice Everyday. Let us vow to fight for equality, freedom, and Justice for all.

This is going to be a busy week for those who seek to use the nomination of Judge Roberts for their own purposes, to bring us closer to theocracy and away from democracy and freedom. The ushers are passing out a proposed schedule for you. Let us dedicate ourselves in the coming week to do as much as we can, every day, to protect our way of life, our religious freedom, and our nation. “Let Justice Roll down like waters, righteousness like a mighty stream.” This is your Call to Justice. Let us do Justice Everyday. And let us say, Amen.

Sermon by Barbara Kavadias, Director of Field Services, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. For information, an electronic version of this sermon, or if you have any questions, contact bkavadias@rcrc.org.