Reflections on the 2012 State of the Union Address

Though the President did spend significant time on the economy and foreign policy, I was surprised that he devoted little to no time addressing religion and the “culture war” issues that are associated with it. As a student researcher at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, I track the presidential discourse on faith and politics, particularly related to the coming election. In my opinion, the President made a mistake in not getting in front of some of these key religious issues – the role of religion in politics today, the treatment of Muslims within American politics and society, and the rights of the gay community, among others – that are becoming driving factors of the political discourse in this election season. Both the research I do and that published by the Pew Forum suggests that while the economy is foremost on voters’ mind, religion remains an important factor in voters’ political decisions, and President Obama should know this, given his history on these matters.

Two examples are illustrative. First, the only minor reference to international religious freedom the President mentioned in the State of the Union was in reference to the Arab Spring, where he said that his administration would continue to “stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings - men and women; Christians, Muslims and Jews”. Yet this hardly lines up with his administration’s lackluster support of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was threatened with a shutdown last year. In addition, there is growing controversy among the Catholic and other religious communities over the administration’s decision to mandate that employers provide birth control insurance coverage to employees. President Obama had the opportunity to address this issue and explain clearly why he feels this does not violate religious freedom – instead, the controversy will continue to fester.

From the opposition, the Republican candidates continue to utilize faith and religious fervor in their campaigns, with both success and controversy. While Mitch Daniel’s response last night did not refer to the issue, it did leave me with one thought: how much more would his voice add to the Republican primary discourse?