What do American know about religion?

The Weekly Brief - August 2, 2019

Budget and economy

With the House voting to raise the debt ceiling and the Senate approving a spending bill, the table is set for President Trump to sign a new budget into law.

The move comes as second quarter reports show US GDP growth slowing a bit to 2.1%, but unemployment remains at a very low 3.7%.

Typically, a strong economy redounds to electoral advantage for incumbents, but Politico argues that this stronger economy could work against President Trump. But one wonders if the Democratic candidates would agree?

Debate 2.0

With another two night debate extravaganza, Democratic candidates worked to refine their respective cases for facing off with Donald Trump in the upcoming election. Joe Biden’s return to the ring, the solidifying Progressive wing, and the advancing consensus of Medicare for all garnered much of the attention, but Marianne Williamson seems to have caught the attention of both liberal and conservative observers as a potential dark horse.

Her under the radar, political outsider, spiritual sage persona initially appeared out of a place to many, but that perception may be shifting. David Brooks at the New York Times believes Williamson is the type of candidate that could beat Trump and the Atlantic notes that Williamson’s unique messaging seems to speak to a deep fear of losing to Trump in 2020.

So, while a lot of attention is being given to the big policy plans of Sanders and Warren, it may well be Williamson’s message that brings the pathos to the Democratic platform. The Federalist suggests that Williamson could be the chief spokesperson for an emerging “religious left.”

Trade war round nth

Talks in China between US and Chinese negotiators this last week don’t seem to have accomplished much as President Trump announced a fresh round of tariffs on Chinese imports yesterday.

The fresh round of tariffs, though admittedly smaller than previous rounds, comes at an apparent moment of perceived Chinese weakness. China and its emerging ally Russia are both dealing with large pro-democracy protests, and recent analysis suggests that Southeast Asia has not been as receptive as many thought to Chinese influence.

While that may all seem like good news for the US in its competition with China, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace worries that pushing a containment strategy too hard could make a Russia-China alliance a fait accompli.

North Africa again

Last week, I shared several stories documenting the political upheaval in North Africa. Despite all the turmoil (or maybe because of it), the Council on Foreign Relations believes that the region will determine the future of Europe.

A key player in that future will be the Kingdom of Morocco who largely seems to have escaped the more serious types of regional tension. Instead, Morocco has quietly been inking trade deals with the EU, and leading efforts to build interfaith dialogue at the UN, cementing a rising diplomatic profile.

DRC’s Ebola outbreak at 1 year

The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo shows no signs of abating. One year in, it has now spread to major cities, and has prompted Rwanda to close its border with the DRC. The New Humanitarian is one of the only sources I’m aware of that’s been consistently covering this tragedy. They supply a useful analysis on why this particular outbreak is so difficult to contain.

Can you negotiate when sanctioned?

The United States upped the ante again on Iran this last week by placing sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The move raises more questions as to what the Trump administration’s end game is with Iran. Targeting its chief negotiator when you claim you want to negotiate seems counterintuitive at best.

However, the diplomatic rows are not just between the US and Iran. War on the Rocks reports that the escalating give and take between the two countries is dragging Europe into America’s policy wake as well.

Hamza “Has Been” bin Laden

There wasn’t a lot of coverage on this, but NBC news reported that Hamza bin Laden, the heir apparent of Al-Qaeda, has been killed. Brookings breaks down the significance of the news, concluding that its a sign of how weak Al-Qaeda has become with a short leadership bench.

“National Conservatism” debuts

The Edmund Burke Foundation hosted a conference on “National Conservatism” last week to debate the future form and direction of American conservatism as a political movement. The National Review articulates the main divide within the conservative movement as being between Teddy Roosevelt-esque nationalists and Burke-inspired classical liberals.

While the two sides certainly agree on the need to define American belonging and patriotism for a new era, there are substantive disagreements on policies and priorities. Immigration is a particular flashpoint with Penn law professor Amy Waxman generating perhaps the greatest controversy with her comments.

Though this “national conservatism” is the phrase of the moment, time will tell if it is only just a moment or if it will have staying power. Progressive publications like the Nation fear the conference signals the complete Trumpian conquest of the GOP, but the Federalist takes a more nuanced view noting the lack of clarity in definition and leaders. At best, national conservatism could well be an orphan idea despite all the attention. At worst, it could merely be repackaged old thinking and ideas. We’ll see.

What do American know about religion?

Last month, the US State Department hosted a high level “Ministerial” meeting on religious freedom, signaling a deep commitment to the concept in the formulation and execution of its foreign policy. But this renewed attention on religion at the foreign policy level raises at interesting question at the domestic level: Are American’s familiar enough with world religions to both value and promote this freedom?

Pew Research enters in a timely manner with just such a report that it’s been working on. A survey of 11,000 Americans suggests that there are large gaps in religious knowledge for many Americans (take the quiz to see where you stand). Such gaps could make it difficult to understand the role of religion in public life, articulate its value, and advocate for its free exercise.

These results raises another question: Assuming that religious freedom is worth promoting and defending, and that religious knowledge is necessary to a proper understanding of that freedom, what role should American schools play in discussing matters of faith?

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