Carter Speaks Up For Women’s Rights

Carter

Despite his age, former President Jimmy Carter, 90, has had no trouble keeping a public presence since leaving office in 1980.  Along with multiple diplomatic shuttles, mostly at the behest of then-President Bill Clinton, serving as an election supervisor at the request of various countries and starting Habitat for Humanity, Carter has also been active in the area of human rights.

Most recently, the long-time Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher announced that he was leaving the sect because of its “rigid” stance on women. Last June, the group’s representatives voted at its national convention to reaffirm a 17^th century decision that women cannot be ordained as pastors.

“My grandfather, my father and I have always been Southern Baptists, and for 21 years, since the first political division took place in the Southern Baptist Convention, I have maintained that relationship. I feel I can no longer in good conscience do that,” Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He continued, “I’m familiar with the verses they have quoted about wives being subjugated to their husbands.  In my opinion, this is a distortion of the meaning of Scripture. … I personally feel the Bible says all people are equal in the eyes of God. I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church.”

Carter's Maranatha Baptist Church

That announcement was met with understandable cynicism.  After all, Carter will continue as a deacon at a Baptist church in his hometown of Plains, Ga.  He’s not leaving the faith, just the Southern Baptist faction that doesn't accept “separation of church and state … a free religious press, and equality of women.”

In addition, Carter waited almost a year since the vote to make the announcement. The timing of Carter’s resignation was not an accident.  He has a book coming out shortly on the issue.  Nothing boosts sales like good hype.

Then, too, this is the second time Carter has quit the Southern Baptists.  He did that same thing some eight years ago over the identical issue. Then, he sent out 75,000 letters and, of course, continued going to church.  This time, he opted for editorial pages in newspapers to make his decision known.
Besides, his religious zeal comes with question marks.  Carter only found religion after losing the 1966 nomination to be governor of Georgia.  He did win in 1970, which he credited to being “born again.”

All-male Catholic priesthood

To top it off, the Southern Baptists are not alone.  Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews also prohibit women from becoming religious leaders.  In fact, most religions refuse to let women take leadership roles in worship.  Personally, I can’t fathom why any woman would want to head a paternalistic faith that treats her gender with disdain.  But such restrictions are piffle compared to the abuse women face worldwide where whole societies relegate women to second-class status.  

Islamic women

According to the World Health Organization, 33 percent of women worldwide will face sexual violence in their lives.  Another 4 million women are bought and sold annually into sexual slavery.  More than 125 million suffer genital mutilation.

In some countries, a woman who is raped can be charged with a crime. In others, simply exposing an arm or an ankle can lead to punishment.  In many countries, women are prohibited from getting an education and, in Saudi Arabia, from even driving a car.

Child brides with children

Religion plays a key role in such limitations.  In Islam, for example, arch-conservative organizations like ISIS sell women into sexual bondage and deny them basic human rights. In some Orthodox Jewish sects, women must shave their heads and can't get a divorce without their husband's approval.  Some religions even force arranged marriages on girls who are barely in their teens.

Not that life is perfect for women here, at least economically.  In our country, according to Labor Department figures, women compared with men are more likely to work part time and work in professions that pay less and are paid about 80 percent of what a man earns in comparative positions.

Women have been treated unequally because of religious tradition, cultural bias and the male desire to maintain power.  That’s despite the fact that women invest what they earn in their families, ensuring healthier and better-educated children.  As a result, society gains.

Harris

Carter is not a jimmy-come-lately to this situation.  As president, he appointed more women federal judges than any of his predecessors combined.  Later presidents continued the process: Clinton now holds the record at 38 percent, but George W. Bush was not far behind at 28 percent.  Carter also placed women in key positions of his administration, including Juanita Kreps and Patricia Harris in his original cabinet and a third, Shirley Hufstedler, as secretary of education. There were many more hired for other important positions.

Rosalynn Carter

In addition, his wife, Rosalynn, actively campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment and was recognized as a close adviser to the president.

As a result, Carter’s efforts to help women worldwide can only be praised.  Anything that focuses the spotlight on demoralizing sexist behavior deserves applause and support, even if it comes with a whiff of self-promotion.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1

Lies Abound in Politics, Internet

Comey

FBI Director James Comey recently apologized after writing a Washington Post op-ed article in  which he accused Poland of being a collaborator in the Holocaust. Actually, the Germans placed concentration camps on occupied Polish soil, and the country had long been the most hospitable to Jews in Europe.

This was hardly the first time that anyone’s make mistakes with history.  They are commonplace despite the incredibly easy access to the internet and its wealth of information.

That’s why there are various organizations that fact-check whatever some politician makes a claim.  Most of elected officials have facts; they just skew them to match a political viewpoint or stretch them beyond reality.

For example:

Zinn

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, a possible Republican presidential candidate, claimed that Howard Zinn, “an anti-American Marxist wrote the most popular textbook taught in our high schools today.”  Wrong.  Zinn, who died in 2010, was a Boston University political science professor who wrote a popular history of the United States as seen through the eyes of common people rather than via the elite or elected officials.  His book helped change how historians look at the past.

Sen. Ted Cruz, of course, contributes his usual assortment of false statements.  For example, his claim that “small businesses are going out of business in record numbers” is completely wrong.  The economy continues to improve; small and large businesses are doing better.

Cruz

He also insisted that that “many of the alarmists on global warming have a problem because science doesn’t back them up.  In particular, satellite data demonstrate for the last 17 years, there’s been zero warming.”  That’s absurd. Studies consistently show rising temperatures globally.  Glaciers are melting.  Some port cities, like Miami, face serious flooding problems because of the rising oceans.

Cruz also insisted that in the 2014 election, the American people “overwhelmingly” rejected Obamacare and amnesty for immigrants.  Actually, exit polls found the exact opposite.

McCain

Rand Paul, another would-be presidential contender, chipped in his own falsehood by claiming that U.S. military involvement in Libya “allowed thousands of surface-to-air missiles to fall into the hands of radical Islamists.”  No, actually, the military destroyed the missiles.

Venerable Sen. John McCain, a feature of many sites that fact check, offered this laugher:  “About 30 percent” of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay on terrorism-related charges “have re-entered the fight.”

Stephen Vladeck, a law professor and expert in national security at American University, said the numbers are suspect since evidence is lacking. "To paraphrase a Scottish writer, Sen. McCain and his colleagues are using these numbers the way drunks use lampposts—more for support than for illumination," Vladeck said.

Rubio

Then there’s Sen. Marco Rubio, another candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. In opposition to increasing the minimum wage, he claimed in a new book that that “if people work and make more money, they’ll lose more in benefits than they would earn in salary.”

That’s wrong.  Politifact.com pointed out in response that “the vast majority of people face some higher taxes and lost benefits when they make more money, but they would still take home more in pay than they would under a lower salary.”

The list could go on: almost every prominent politician from all parties has earned a place on this list of shame, including President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Mitch McConnell.

However, the most bald-faced liars inhabit Facebook and similar sites, posting insidious fabrication.  Often, the images have been photo-shopped to “illustrate” the lies. 

Executed?

AmericanNews.com posted this whopper: “According to recent reports, a group of death panels organized under Obamacare ordered their first execution.” There are no such panels.  By the way, the first person “executed” was one of the Golden Girls, Dorothy Zbornak, a character played by the late Bea Arthur.  

Then there’s this Facebook post: “When Obama took office, 2.3 million people were out of work.  Five-plus years later, we have 5 million-plus out of work.”  The actual facts?  “The number of unemployed Americans has declined by 3 million, or by one-fourth, since Obama took office,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This vicious image also made the rounds on Facebook:  Supposedly a sign posted in Dearborn, Mich., by the Advancement of Islamic Agenda for America, reads, “Allah be praised.  America we will kill you all and nothing you can do to stop it.”

That was photo-shopped.  No such group exists.  Muslims have lived peacefully in this country for generations. 

Clinton

Then, there’s this absurdity circulating through e-mail: “Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a New York State Senator now comes under this fancy ‘congressional retirement staffing plan’ which means that if she never gets re-elected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies. If Bill out-lives her, he then inherits HER salary until he dies. He is already getting his Presidential salary ($20,000 a month) until he dies. If Hillary out-lives Bill, she also gets HIS salary until she dies…”

None of that is true.  Clinton gets the usual benefits accorded any elected official and, in her case, as former Secretary of State.

At least FBI Director Comey apologized.  Most everyone else has continued spewing nonsense and easily convincing those refusing to do a little fact checking of their own.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history, as well as an occasional foray into current events.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.com.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1

Candidates Offer Religious Views

Ever since Democratic Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter decided to discuss his religious beliefs openly in a Playboy magazine interview back in 1976, religion has played a significant role in American politics.  That’s not to say it was hidden before.  However, there are not many examples of religion worming its way into the political process prior to Carter.

Democrat Al Smith in 1928 was defeated in part by his religious affiliation. Democrat John Kennedy in 1960 had to defend himself against charges that he would kowtow to the Pope because of his religion.  Back in 1884, Republican James Blaine lost the presidential election after a supporter said, “We are Republicans, and don't propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents have been rum, Romanism, and rebellion. We are loyal to our flag.”  The term “Romanism” was a slander against Catholics, who turned to Democrat Grover Cleveland.

Madison

Nevertheless, most candidates avoided discussion of religion.  Republican Abraham Lincoln, the most beloved of our presidents, was criticized for shunning regular worship and ignored requests to put his bedrock beliefs into the public forum.  George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were deists, despite being affiliated with churches.  John Adams was essentially an atheist.  None of that made any difference in their quests to be president.  Good luck trying to guess the religion of Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson or any other president prior to Carter.

That’s all different today.  The media pries into religious status of each candidate, checks on the clergy at whatever church a candidate belongs to and peppers news conferences with questions about piety.

As a result, quotes focused on religious beliefs are already circulating more than a year before the 2016 election.  Here are what most of the current candidates – announced or expected to announce – have to say about religion in American life.  I have listed them without party affiliation or alphabetical order to avoid being accused of bias.  I’ve also added comments when a politician's statement reflects historical misunderstandings.

Biden

Chafee

Lincoln Chafee (Episcopalian)

Separation of church and state is an important constitutional principle.

Joe Biden (Catholic)

My religion defines who I am. And I’ve been a practicing Catholic my whole life… With regard to abortion, I accept my church’s position on abortion as a — what we call de fide doctrine. Life begins at conception. That’s the Church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews and — I just refuse to impose that on others.

Paul

Rand Paul (Presbyterian)

The First Amendment says keep government out of religion. It doesn’t say keep religion out of government.  So, you do have a role and a place here.

Note:  The Supreme Court has disagreed with the claim in multiple decisions.  That’s why monuments to the 10 Commandments were removed from courthouses, to cite one example.

Sanders

Bernie Saunders (Jewish)

Note: I could find no comments directly related to this topic, but he is typically liberal in his views.

O'Malley

Martin O’Malley (Catholic)

I learned … to search for Christ in the faces of others including, and especially, the faces of the poor, the faces of the homeless men who lined up for a meal every morning alongside the foundations of this church … I learned … to recognize and confront the enemy within – the original sin of our own culture and environment that would have us think less of people who – because of race, or class, or place – are not like us … And I learned that it is not enough to have faith, you must also have the courage to risk action on that faith, to risk failure upon that faith: the faith that one person can make a difference and that each of us must try.

James Webb (Nondenominational Christian)

Webb

Note: I could find no comments directly related to this topic, but he is typically conservative in his views.

Elizabeth Warren (Methodist)

I grew up in a Methodist church and I was a Sunday school teacher when we lived back in Texas. When I was making the decision whether to get into (the) Senate race, one of the important touch points for me was to read my Bible. And it’s Matthew 25:40, you know the passage? For me, that passage is the heart of what I believe. Because what it says is “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these the least of these my bretheren. ...” (I still use the King James version, it’s beautiful). 

Warren

It says three things: it says there is God in ... the hungry, the poor, the stranger, there is God in each of us. Because. Remember, it says “you did it unto me.” And that’s saying God was in, God is in, the poor, the thirsty, the stranger.
 
But then part two is he never asks the question of going to heaven and hell, what your intent was, the question was: Did you act? And those who gave meat to the hungry, those who gave water to the thirsty, those who welcomed the stranger in, were the ones that God welcomed to heaven. ... It stresses the importance of community, because it says, in fact, it’s about action and it’s about action together.

Cruz

 
And that’s how I read Matthew 25:40. 

Ted Cruz (Catholic)

This nation was founded by men and women fleeing religious oppression and coming here seeking the freedom to seek out our lord God almighty with all of our hearts, minds and souls, free of the government getting in the way. 

Note:  Cruz is incorrect.  The first English settlers came here in 1607 to make money and settled in Virginia.  The second group came for religious reasons, set up camp in Massachusetts in 1620 and created a rigid society that followed one set of beliefs.  They ostracized and/or killed dissenters.  In fact, they wanted government to control religious belief, as did the later Virginians until James Madison in the late 1770s pointed out that a future government could impose a different belief.  Freedom of religion was born in Providence, Rhode Island, which was founded by The Rev. Roger Williams after being ousted from Massachusetts.

Rubio

More Cruz comments:

We understand that our rights come not from a king or queen, not from government, but from The Lord God Almighty. Today there are great challenges facing our nation, but if America is going to continue to stand strong, we must first be on our knees.

Our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious belief.

Marco Rubio (Catholic)
You cannot do anything without God.  It is a profound and fundamental truth.

Note: That will come as a surprise to the billions of people, such as Hindus and Buddhists, who don’t share that concept of God.

Mike Huckabee (Southern Baptist)

Huckabee

Ultimately, we don't have a crime problem or a gun problem, or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem.  Since we've ordered God out of our schools, communities, the military and public conversations, we really shouldn't act so surprised when all hell breaks loose. (2014)

Note: Prayer is allowed in school and everywhere else.  Coerced prayer isn’t.  There’s no evidence that prayer does anything good or bad.

Other Huckabee comments:

I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.

Bush

Note: Contemporary views change constantly.  To amend the Constitution to match up with today’s flavor only serves to restrict the future.  The Constitution was left deliberately terse to allow for flexibility.

Jeb Bush (Catholic)

Note: I could find no comments directly related to this topic, but he is typically conservative in his views.

Clinton

Hillary Clinton (Methodist)

People cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens. This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women.

Note: Naturally, since these folks are politicians, we can expect completely different and likely opposite comments once the nomination is secured.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1