WHY W. DOESN'T GO TO CHURCH

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WHY W. DOESN'T GO TO CHURCH.

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by Amy Sullivan

 

Post date 10.05.04 | Issue date 10.11.04

ost Americans are aware that George W. Bush is a religious man. He is, after

all, the man who presided over a religious revival of sorts at the Republican

National Convention. He is the man who has pioneered what could be called

cardio-diplomacy, judging world leaders--and, at times, entire nations--by their

" hearts. " He is the subject of at least four spiritual hagiographies currently

in bookstores, and one religious documentary ( " George W. Bush: Faith in the

White House " ). Most famously, Americans know him as the man who, when asked to

cite the philosopher who had the greatest influence on him, named Jesus Christ.

 

What most--including many of the president's fiercest supporters--don't know,

however, is that Bush doesn't go to church. Sure, when he weekends at Camp

David, Bush spends Sunday morning with the compound's chaplain. And, every so

often, he drops in on the little Episcopal church across Lafayette Park from the

White House. But the president who has staked much of his domestic agenda on the

argument that religious communities hold the key to solving social problems

doesn't belong to a congregation.

 

It should be a politically intriguing story. Bush is one of the most explicitly

religious politicians in American history. Both of his presidential campaigns

have used religion to appeal emotionally to voters. The entire philosophy behind

his signature slogan, " compassionate conservatism, " rests on the belief that

religious communities have a unique ability to tend to the nation's social ills.

And yet, after the flood of coverage around Bush's first--and only--visit to a

neighborhood church during inauguration weekend in Washington, D.C., no one has

bothered to report on the president's whereabouts on Sunday mornings.

 

Around Washington, D.C., it's considered bad form to point out that Bush doesn't

regularly attend church. " You don't have to go to church to be a good religious

person, " argue his defenders. And they're right. They have made much political

hay, however, over polls that indicate Democratic voters attend church less

frequently than Republicans, so even the most brazen feel compelled to offer

explanations for Bush's absence from church membership rolls.

 

The first excuse conservatives provide is that Bush can't possibly be expected

to have time to go to church, what with being leader of the free world and all.

Yet, during Jimmy Carter's four years in the White House, he found time not only

to attend a Baptist church in the Washington, D.C., area, but to teach Sunday

school there as well. For a presidential delegator like Bush--who has freed up

enough time to spend approximately one-third of his presidency on

vacation--finding a few hours for church should be a snap.

 

But, even if Bush had the time for church services, supporters protest, the

security precautions necessary for a presidential visit would drive congregants

away. This is the exact same argument the Reagan White House trotted out to

explain why the patron saint of the religious right hardly ever attended church

from 1981 to 1989. Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and security personnel,

so the theory goes, would pose an onerous burden for the average church. " The

president wants to avoid the sort of major weekly disruption that would be

caused if he went to church, " says David Aikman, author of A Man of Faith: The

Spiritual Journey of George W. Bush.

 

As it happens, I attended Foundry United Methodist Church for several years

during the late '90s when the Clintons were members there. The only imposition

was the extra ten seconds it took to walk through a metal detector. Parishioners

did not leave the church in droves; on the contrary, many were pleasantly

surprised to find that the Clintons played an active role in church life,

particularly while Chelsea was involved in the choir and youth group.

 

If time and security aren't the reasons, what excuse does that leave? The very

fact that the president doesn't attend church, some leading conservatives

insist, is proof of what a good Christian he is. Unlike certain past presidents

they could name but won't--ahem, cough, Bill Clinton--Bush doesn't feel the need

to prove his religiosity. " This president has not made an issue of where he goes

to church, " says Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. " I

find it refreshing that we don't have a president coming out of church with a

large Bible under his arm. " Conservatives relish this opportunity for a little

gratuitous Clinton-bashing. In private, however, they admit the explanation

doesn't hold up. " I really don't get it, " one prominent Bush partisan told me.

" There's no reason why the president couldn't find a church around here if he

wanted to. "

 

n truth, Bush probably doesn't spend Sunday morning watching " Meet the Press " or

wrestling with The New York Times crossword puzzle. He no doubt observes the

Sabbath in his own way, as do millions of Americans who identify themselves as

religious but don't attend church. Bush has been shaped by a " small-group "

mentality, emphasizing a one-on-one relationship with God over the experience of

Christian fellowship in a community.

 

Or it could be that Bush's faith, while sincere, is not terribly deep. Aikman,

who had significant access to Bush confidantes while writing his book, has said

that he " could not get from anybody a sort of credo of what [bush] believes. "

Nevertheless, Aikman pressed on by " intuit[ing] " Bush's faith and presenting as

evidence of the president's deep spiritual commitment his fondness for carrots

and jogging (apparently a response to the scriptural admonition to treat the

body as a temple for God) and the politeness of White House staffers ( " though

manners are not specifically connected to George W.'s personal religious faith,

it was as though the discipline he brought to his own life of prayer and Bible

study filtered down into the work habits of everyone who worked with him " ).

 

It shouldn't really matter. A president's religious habits often reveal far less

about his faith than the decisions he makes. But, more than any other president,

Bush has staked his political reputation on being a devout man of faith. The

implied and often explicit responsibility for one another that undergirds

congregational life is at the heart of Bush's faith-based policy agenda. The

fact that he isn't himself a member of a congregation should be relevant.

 

It's not as if political reporters have ignored the church-going habits of

Bush's opponent. During the " John Kerry Wafer Watch, " they have done everything

short of inspect the senator's molars for evidence of any unswallowed Host.

Hyperbole? A recent Kerry campaign pool report included this observation: " Both

Mr. and Mrs. received communion, taking the host from the priests in their hands

(others took direct to mouth). They spent ample time on the kneeler. "

 

When Bush moved to Washington in early 2001, many religious observers bandied

about the question of which church the incoming president would attend. Four

years later, the answer is hidden in plain sight: The emperor has no church.

 

Amy Sullivan is an editor of The Washington Monthly.

 

 

 

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