Mocking faith is a way to lose votes (Editorial)

Social media is having a field day with Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, who called for two minutes of prayer, visualization and meditation as a strategy to deter Hurricane Dorian from slamming into the United States.

The harsher critics lambasted Williamson for what they considered trivializing and even disrespecting the tragedy suffered by residents of the Bahamas. Most others just laughed as if Williamson were advocating some form of mentalism might move the storm, much as a magician pretends to lift a book off a table though power of the mind.

Members of the Democratic Party, and for that matter anyone hoping to reclaim that large expanse of America that votes Republican, should temper their mockery and glee. Williamson’s idea may not be something the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) might incorporate into policy. It may even be a dramatic example of wishful thinking.

But, when Democrats ask why religious people and organizations back a president who is a polar opposite or what traditional middle-class morality represents, Williamson might be a useful case study. It is one thing to dismiss such an idea as hers as unrealistic. It is quite another to make fun of faith.

Williamson’s presidential candidacy has been treated primarily as diversion, and to many, comic relief. Known mostly as Oprah Winfrey’s spiritual adviser, she has remained in the race as others have dropped out, but her support base is minuscule and it’s hard to imagine her formal candidacy lasting much longer.

Say this about her: this campaign differs from all others. It’s a very Woodstockian plea to “harness love for political purposes.” Williamson is calling for a Department of Peace. She asks for a “moral and spiritual awakening," which was once a much more acceptable campaign motto than it is now.

While Democrats indulge her and likely snicker when she’s out of range, Williamson has tapped into something that tilts heavily to Republicans, especially in that vast swath of American known as the South, Midwest and non-coastal West: faith. Most people dismiss prayer’s ability to detour a hurricane. But when she promotes the value of prayer and faith, not everybody out there is laughing, feigning offense or demanding all spiritual messages be expunged from a society pledged to separate church and state.

Williamson’s unconventional campaign has been publicized mostly for its controversies. She had to walk back her statements of skepticism about vaccines. She believes medication is used all too hastily in treating depression. And once her Hurricane Dorian tweet went viral, she deleted it amid the outcry against it.

People of all faiths and religious organizations hold their own views, and they are divided on President Trump. Incredulous Democrats say that for people preaching morality to sign on with a president of such behavior is the ultimate in hypocrisy. In many cases, that’s totally true. But they do nothing to encourage faith-based people to regain trust in a Democratic Party they believe not only doesn’t represent them, but scorns, ridicules and even dislikes them.

For the Democrats, the problem with that is that a lot of these people exist, with views more diverse that their stereotype suggests. Most likely doubt that two minutes of prayer will redirect a storm. But they do not take kindly to mockery of the power of prayer - and faith.

Trump won 30 states. The Democratic Party could win some back by re-positioning itself not as a representative of organized religion and religious faith, but also not as an adversary to its place and influence with the American voters.

Or, they could keep making fun of those who believe, distancing themselves from this constituency or treating it as an ignorant, hypocritical flock. That doesn’t mean Williamson’s observation was correct. It only means the more one side mocks the other side, the more the other side grows in strength. That’s one reason why Donald Trump won the first time, and if the Democrats don’t learn from it, it may be why he wins again.

___

(c)2019 MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.

Visit MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass. at www.masslive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.