Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, the frontrunner in many polls for the Republican Presidential nomination, is now revealed belatedly to have issued a harsh attack on mainline Protestantism–meaning the Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist and other churches who have, at least in portions, accepted the growing role of women and of gays and lesbians in church affairs–in a speech at Ave Maria University in Florida in 2008.
Santorum, a conservative Catholic, who is appealing to many evangelical Christian groups, condemned the mainline Protestants for having given in to Satan by liberalizing their approach to the Gospel.
Since mainline Protestants are a very large group as a whole in American religious life, this revelation should have a dramatic effect, and become a new issue in American politics. Many mainline Protestants have already abandoned what they consider the hardline, narrow minded view of the Republican Party since the 1990s, and have often been described as “progressive” in their social views.
So we may be witnessing a new religious “war”, in which evangelical Christians, conservative Catholics, and Orthodox Jews are pitted against mainline Protestants, liberal oriented Catholics, and Conservative and Reform Jews, in the struggle for the spiritual support of Americans, in a country that was created based on separation of church and state, but has been pushed toward a theocratic vision by right wing religious advocates, which clearly include Rick Santorum as their present day “savior” from reform and modernization!
I’VE HAD ENOUGH! In this Holy War on Religion, of Religion, and by Religion. I SURRENDER! I’m a lover, not a fighter.  Instead… I’m gonna start my OWN religion, and get in on the good stuff: tax exemptions, and lots of taxpayer money to do what I want, in the name of religious liberty. Most definitely! Hey NEWT -wanna join? We’re gonna have open marriages and multiple wives and all SORTS of neat stuff that you’re just gonna love! But don’t you worry your little head Newt: we’ll have no, I repeat, NO nasty stoning of adulterers. None of that stuff. I Promise! As for SANTORUM, he just LOVES to tell other people how to live. He’ll make us a REAL fine preacher-man. In fact, we’ll make him Saint Santorum. AND fix his Google search results! As for Mr. Obama,  obviously, we’ll need to (severely) demonize him, even further. And his dog Toto too. Last but not least: MITT and RON. Hmmm. Hey, I know. Just for you two guys: we’ll insist on NO TAXES AT ALL for church members…AND human sacrifice of illegal aliens. Out with their hearts! Televised! Live! Whoooppee! WHAT A COUNTRY! 🙂
By the way, please don’t mention the REASON that Mitt Romney’s dad was born in Mexico (i.e. The fact that Mitt’s Mormon grand-dad left the United States in the 1880’s. He went to Mexico BECAUSE laws against polygamy were passed in the U.S. ; Being a Mormon back then, Mitt’s grand-dad wanted to keep his multiple wives. Hey, who wouldn’t?) Bottom line: if we follow the “logic†of the people crying crocodile tears about a non-existent “war on religionâ€, then the U.S. should have allowed polygamy (and who knows what else) just because a particular religion claimed it as their cherished belief. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Absolutely NO ONE is coming into our Churches or places of worship and trying to tell parishioners what to believe…..or forcing them to use contraception. BUT If the Bishops (and other denominations) want to continue running businesses that employ millions of people of varying faiths -or no “faith” at all- THEN they must play by the same rules and rights that other workers have and enjoy…especially if their businesses use our tax dollars (and skip paying taxes) in the process. This is not a “war on religionâ€. It’s a war on women and men who simply want to plan their families and control their future. Now that’s REAL religious liberty!
Dear Progressive Professor,
Your blog article should be re-titled:
Rick Santorum Attacked Liberal Protestantism Four Years Ago: The Fight Against Satan.
Also, there is evidence that Evangelicals in the U.S. support and endorse Rick Santorum (more so that average Catholics as a whole.