Reality Check 101

It is striking how little the Obama administration and the mainstream media understand about the dynamic role that religious faith plays in the lives of Americans.

 The best example of the Administration’s naiveté centers on Obamacare’s insurance coverage mandate for so-called birth control.  For the purposes of this discussion however, it is not the mandate itself that is so intriguing.  Rather, it is the complete religious blindness of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the president himself.  The idea that any faith group simply needs more time or a better compromise to violate its most basic tenants is laughable.

 Much of the time, the media’s strategy is less direct.  Because religion, especially conservative Christianity, is such a bothersome enigma to them, it is rarely worth of serious attention.  On June 8^th, for example, there were “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rallies in 160 cities across theUnited States.  There were nine cities in Michigan with rallies and over a thousand people participated in Detroit.  Yet, except for local coverage which couldn’t ignore the larger rallies, if you listened for coverage, you could have heard a pin drop.

 According to a 2009 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 89% of Americans are religiously affiliated or at least consider religion to be important to their lives.  Only 4% claimed to be atheist or agnostic.  Put a different way, in a 2011Galluppoll, 81% of respondents considered religion to be either very important (55%) or fairly important.

 So, what are the government and media missing?  Put bluntly, heart and soul.  Somehow the Left, progressive as it likes to be known currently, has convinced itself that in spite of the realities around them and sometimes in spite of their personal religious affiliations, Americais a secular nation built on a secular foundation.

 The presence of God in Americais not about psychology or social pressures or political ideology.  It is about the reality of spiritual life and the Creator of it all.  Over 78% of Americans self-identify as Christian.  Other religions make up not quite 5%.  If the almost 6% more who consider themselves to be religious but unaffiliated with any particular group are included, it means that the supposed secular character of America rests on the shoulders of just 11% of the population.

 In spite of the desire of a small minority, God is very alive and very active in the nation as a whole and in the personal lives of its citizens.  It is true that many of us would love to see Him known more widely and more intimately through Jesus Christ.  But the absence of that ideal does not make God less important to the fabric of theUnited States, let alone any less a part of its founding.

 Most Americans understand that if they are forced to make a choice between the values of the federal government or values of their hearts, heart wins.