Religion and political corruption

Posted on September 18th, 2006

Archived in 2006, Ethics

National sources

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• J. Philip Wogaman, who recently concluded a stint as interim president and visiting professor of Christian ethics at Iliff School of Theology, is a United Methodist minister who was pastor in Washington, D.C., to President and Mrs. Clinton. His books include Christian Perspectives on Politics: Revised and Expanded (Westminster John Knox, 2000) and From the Eye of the Storm: A Pastor to the President Speaks Out (WJK, 1998). Contact 202-363-3093, jpwogaman@aol.com.
• Ravi Batra is an economics professor at Southern Methodist University and author of The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming January 2007). Batra says journalists should investigate such issues as how political corruption creates poverty and how politicians exploit religion to get elected and then adopt policies to benefit themselves and the wealthy. Contact 214-768-2707, rbatra@smu.edu.
• Ted G. Jelen is a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He studies the role of the Catholic Church in American politics. Jelen says it’s important whether members of different religious groups see partisan differences in the scope of political corruption. Contact 702-895-3355, jelent@unlv.nevada.edu.
• C. Melissa Snarr is an assistant professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. She says angles to consider include whether the U.S. political system corrupts basically good politicians who enter it; how, if “love of money is the root of all evil,” Christian denominations are engaging its growing role in politics; and what the role of forgiveness is in politics, especially around issues of corruption. Contact melissa.snarr@vanderbilt.edu.
• Steve Johnson is director of character education at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif. The center conducted an Ethics and Leadership Camp for Public Officials June 21-22, 2006 ‘>. Contact 408-554-6802, sjohnson@scu.edu.
• David Callahan is author of The Cheating Culture: Why More American are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead (Harcourt, 2004) and co-founder of the public policy center Demos. Contact 212-633-1405, dcallahan@demos.org.
• Michael Cromartie is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. His books include, as editor, Religion and Politics in America: A Conversation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005) and A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003). Contact 202-682-1200, crom@eppc.org.
• Michael Josephson is founder and president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition. Contact 310-846-4800, cc@jiethics.org.
• Stephen D. Potts is chairman of the board of directors of the Ethics Resource Center, a nonprofit educational center that tries to strengthen ethical leadership worldwide by providing expertise, research, education and partnerships. He was a member of the Ethics Education Task Force for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and from 1990-2000 he was director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Contact 202-737-2258, steve@ethics.org.
• Joan Claybrook is president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, which has a Congress Watch division. Contact through 202-588-7742, rpleatman@citizen.org.
• E.J. Dionne Jr. is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow for governance studies at the Brookings Institution. His books include, as co-editor, What’s God Got to Do With the American Experiment? (Brookings Institution Press, 2000). Read his July 21, 2006, column about the defeat of Ralph Reed. Contact through kdavis@brookings.edu.
• Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, is the author of The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (HarperCollins, 2006). She founded the Albright Group LLC, chairs the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and teaches at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Contact through Jamie Smith, Albright Group, 202-842-7222, press@TheAlbrightGroupLLC.com.
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s most recent book is Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History and Future (Integrity, 2006). Gingrich has a doctorate in history. Contact him through Washington-based spokesman Rick Tyler, 540-338-1250, ricktyler@newt.org.
• Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus of religious studies at DePaul University and former co-director of the Jesus Seminar, wrote God & Empire (HarperSanFrancisco, forthcoming winter 2007). It compares the first-century Roman Empire with the 21st-century United States. Contact Maria Meneses, 415-477-4472, maria.meneses@harpercollins.com.
• Joseph Telushkin is a rabbi and author of The Book of Jewish Values: A Day-by-Day Guide to Ethical Living (Harmony/Bell Tower, 2000) and The Ten Commandments of Character: Essential Advice for Living an Honorable, Ethical, Honest Life (Harmony/Bell Tower, 2003). He is also a columnist on ethics for Beliefnet.com. Contact joseph.telushkin@josephtelushkin.com.
• The Rev. Rebecca Larson is director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Division for Church in Society, which publishes a magazine on Lutheran ethics. Contact 773-380-2710, rebecca_larson@elca.org.
• James E. Winkler is general secretary for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society. Part of the GBCS’s mission is to promote “personal, social and civic righteousness.” Contact 202-488-5629, jwinkler@umc-gbcs.org.
• Richard Land is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Barrett Duke is vice president for research and public policy and director of the SBC’s Research Institute of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Contact via Jill Martin 615-782-8417, jmartin@erlc.com.

Background

• For more sources and background, check out 2004 ReligionLink tips on trust, on lying and on business ethics, and a 2003 tip on whether politicians practice what they preach.
• The New York Times tracks news about the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
• Read a Sept. 15, 2006, Associated Press story about U.S. Rep. Bob Ney agreeing to plead guilty. It’s posted by MSNBC.
• Ralph Reed’s defeat in the Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor is seen as the first sign of voter backlash against political corruption, according to a July 20, 2006, Washington Post article.
• Members of Congress who are under ethics investigations have been using campaign funds to pay legal fees, according to a Bloomberg News article published July 20, 2006, by The Washington Post.
• Congress rarely expels members, according to a July 17, 2006, Gannett News Service report published by The Daily World of Opelousas, La.
• Read a May 19, 2006, Washington Post article about the House Ethics Committee’s plans to conduct inquiries into allegations that members of Congress accepted bribes.
• Read an Associated Press story published April 12, 2006, by ABC about voter anger over politics and corruption.

POLLS
• A poll conducted May 16-17, 2006, for CNN asked how important the issue of government corruption would be in this year’s congressional elections. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said “extremely important” and 39 percent said “very important.”
• A survey released April 20, 2006, by the Pew Research Center found record levels of voter disenchantment with Congress and anti-incumbent feeling. A July 2005 poll by the Pew Forum indicated that roughly half of Americans (51 percent) think churches and other houses of worship should express their views on day-to-day social and political questions, while 44 percent believe they should stay out of political matters. The public is generally comfortable with politicians mentioning their religious faith; in fact, more people say there is too little expression of religious faith by political leaders (39 percent) than say there is too much (26 percent).
• A George Washington University Battleground 2006 survey released March 2, 2006, showed the American electorate feeling low levels of trust in Democratic and Republican leaders in Washington.
• In the 2004 National Election Study, 41 percent of respondents said they thought corruption such as bribe-taking was widespread among U.S. politicians. The study is posted by the Association of Religion Data Archives.
• The Baylor Religion Survey of 2005 quantifies how people’s view of God affects their political views. It’s posted by the Association of Religion Data Archives.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST
• Read a July 21, 2006, Boston Globe article about the closing of a University of Massachusetts parking garage that became a symbol of political corruption.
• Read about convicted former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland’s speech to teenagers on the corrupting nature of success and power in a July 1, 2006, Providence Journal article and in an Associated Press report, posted July 2, 2006, by The Boston Globe. Read an AP story, published Feb. 10, 2006, by The Boston Globe, about his release after serving 10 months in prison.
• Bernice Lerner directs the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University in Massachusetts. Contact 617-353-3262, CAEC@bu.edu.
• Alan Wolfe is professor of political science and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. He says that in addition to financial corruption, he hopes journalists will cover issues of moral corruption – how temptations of power corrupt religious ideas about avoiding sin and temptation. Contact 617-552-1862, wolfe@bc.edu.
• Dennis F. Thompson is a professor of public policy and political philosophy at Harvard University. His books on political ethics include, as co-author, Ethics and Politics: Cases and Comments (Wadsworth Publishing, 2005). Contact 617-495-1336, dennis_thompson@ksg.harvard.edu.
• Nancy Smith of Peabody, Mass., wrote the 2006 book Workplace Spirituality: A Complete Guide for Business Leaders (Axial Publishing), and she leads workshops on that topic. She is a United Methodist deacon with a Web ministry on workplace spirituality. She says angles to track include asking the cause when a politician’s behavior strays from previously stated religious beliefs. Contact 978-977-7785, Webmaster@WorkplaceSpirituality.info or Publicist@AxialAgePublishing.com.
• John Jefferson Davis, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), teaches systematic theology and Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. His books include Evangelical Ethics: Issues Facing the Church Today (P & R Publishing, 2004). Contact Anne Doll, director of communications, at 978-646-4141, adoll@gcts.edu.
• Andrew Walsh is associate director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., where he is managing editor of Religion in the News magazine and teaches history and religion. Contact 860-297-5354, Andrew.Walsh@trincoll.edu.

IN THE EAST
• Randall Balmer teaches about American religion at Barnard College, Columbia University, and is the author of Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America — An Evangelical’s Lament (Perseus, July 2006). Contact 212-854-3292, rb281@columbia.edu.
• Arthur B. Dobrin is the leader emeritus of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island and a professor of humanities at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. He teaches courses in ethical education, personal ethics and religious ethics. His books include, as author, Ethics for Everyone: How to Improve Your Moral Intelligence (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). Contact 516-463-6172, arthur.b.dobrin@hofstra.edu.
• Bernard K. Freamon is a law professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. He specializes in Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic legal history and has an interest in ethics. Contact 973-642-8827, freamobe@shu.edu.
• Rabbi Eugene Borowitz is a professor of Jewish religious thought at the Jewish Institute of Religion at Hebrew Union College in New York, N.Y. His books include, as co-author, The Jewish Moral Values (Jewish Publication Society, 1999). Contact 212-824-2236, eborowitz@huc.edu.
• Michael Novak is a philosopher, theologian and public policy commentator at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Contact through his assistant there, 202-862-5839, mnovak@aei.org.
• Political theorist and philosopher Michael Walzer is a professor of social science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. He co-edits Dissent magazine. Contact 609-734-8253, walzer@ias.edu.
• Jeffrey Stout, a religion professor at Princeton University and contributing editor to the Journal of Religious Ethics, is the author of Democracy and Tradition (Princeton University Press, new edition 2005). Contact 609-258-4485, stout@princeton.edu.
• Akbar S. Ahmed is chairman of the Islamic studies department at American University in Washington, D.C. He is author of Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World (Polity Press, 2003). Contact Clark Gregor, university media relations, 202-885-5935, gregor@american.edu.
• Becky Garrison, a Manhattan-based freelance writer and senior contributing editor for the religious satire magazine The Wittenburg Door, is the author of Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church: Eyewitness Accounts of How American Churches are Hijacking Jesus, Bagging the Beatitudes, and Worshipping the Almighty Dollar ( Jossey-Bass, 2006). Contact bgthedoor@aol.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST
• Read a July 20, 2006, Associated Press report, published by the Macon Telegraph, about the political future of former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed after he lost the Republican primary for Georgia lieutenant governor.
• Read a May 27, 2006, Miami Herald column about the phrase “culture of corruption.”
• Elizabeth Bounds is associate professor of Christian ethics and coordinator of the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. She says religious bodies are not always adept at teaching how values should be applied in everyday life. Contact ebounds@emory.edu.
• Susan J. Tolchin, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and journalist Martin Tolchin, former publisher and editor in chief of The Hill newspaper, have co-authored several books on congressional ethics, including Glass Houses: Congressional Ethics and the Politics of Venom (Westview Press, 2003). Contact her at 202-625-7782, tolchin@gmu.edu.
• Keith Goree directs the Applied Ethics Institute at St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Fla. Contact 727-341-4313, Goree.Keith@spcollege.edu.
• Ronald T. Libby is a professor of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida. He specializes in political ethics and is a senior fellow at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Center for Ethics, Public Policy and the Professions. Contact 904-620-1927, rlibby@unf.edu.
• Anthony V. Alfieri is a law professor at Miami University in Coral Gables, Fla., where he founded and directs the Center for Ethics and Public Service. The center offers ethics training to government agencies. Contact 305-284-2735, aalfieri@law.miami.edu.
• Steven M. Tipton is a professor of the sociology of religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He researches American religion and politics, and the sociology of morality. Contact 404-727-6333, stipton@emory.edu.
• Kathy Kinlaw is director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University. Contact 404-727-2201, kkinlaw@emory.edu.
• Tom Morris is a philosopher, author and president of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, N.C. His books include Making Sense of It All (Eerdmans, 1992), God and the Philosophers (Oxford, 1994) and Philosophy for Dummies (Wiley, 1999). Contact 910-256-6119, tmorris@morrisinstitute.com .

IN THE SOUTH
• Read a Reuters article, published June 17, 2006, by The Boston Globe, about the ousting of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., from the House Ways and Means Committee.
• David Reidy is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His research interests include integrity and public office. Contact 865-974-7210, dreidy@utk.edu.
• Kenneth Keulman is professor of ethics at Loyola University in New Orleans. Contact 504-865-3943, kkeulman@wcfia.harvard.edu.
• Mark Hulsether is an associate professor of religious studies and American studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is working on a book titled Religion, Culture and Politics in Modern America, to be published by Edinburgh University Press. Contact 865-974-2466, mhulseth@utk.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST
• Read a July 2, 2006, ABC News report on Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.Va., who is under FBI investigation.
• Read an April 17, 2006, CBS/AP article about the conviction of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on racketeering and fraud charges.
• Read an April 26, 2006, New York Times story about how earmarking national funds for specific Nebraska projects has become an issue in a Senate race.
• Read an Aug. 18, 2005, CBS/AP story about current Ohio Gov. Bob Taft pleading no contest to four misdemeanor ethics charges.
• Jean Bethke Elshtain is a professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School in Chicago and specializes in the link between political and ethical convictions. Contact 773-702-7252 or through her secretary, 773-702-8238, smcgee@uchicago.edu.
• Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung is a philosophy professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. She is an expert on ethics and has written on virtue and vice. She says organized religion has largely bought into the idea of religion as a private matter – something to be practiced at home and in church, but not necessarily at work. Contact 616-526-6418, rdeyoung@calvin.edu.
• The Rev. Robert Sirico is president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, Mich. Contact 616-454-3080, rsirico@acton.org.
• David Solomon is associate professor of philosophy at Notre Dame University and directs the Center for Ethics and Culture. Contact 574-631-9656, solomon.1@nd.edu.
• Paul Weithman is a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame University and the author of Religion and the Obligations of Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 2002). Contact 574-631-5182, weithman.1@nd.edu.
• Loyal D. Rue is author of By the Grace of Guile: The Role of Deception in Natural History and Human Affairs (Oxford University Press, 1994) and professor of religion and philosophy at Luther College, an Evangelical Lutheran school in Decorah, Iowa. He says organized religion has lost the moral authority it once had. Contact rueloyal@luther.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST
• Read an Associated Press story, published July 21, 2006, by CBS News, about the fining and shutting-down of a fund-raising organization for former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who had been House majority leader. Read an April 10, 2006, New York Observer column about DeLay’s resignation.
• Read an Associated Press story about plans to retry former New Mexico State Treasurer Robert Vigil on public corruption charges. The article was published June 15, 2006, in The Albuquerque Tribune. Read more about the case in AP stories published by the Tribune on June 10, 2006, and June 9, 2006.
• Robin Meyers is a United Church of Christ pastor, syndicated columnist and professor of rhetoric at Oklahoma City University. Books he has written include Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister’s Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future (Jossey-Bass, May 2006). Contact rmeyers@okcu.edu.
• Daryl Koehn is a professor of business ethics and director of the Center for Business Ethics at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic school in Houston. Contact 713-942-5917, koehnd@stthom.edu.
• Charles Curran is a professor of human values at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He specializes in moral theology, social ethics and the role of the church as a moral and political actor in society. Contact 214-768-4073, ccurran@smu.edu.
• Howard Hendricks is chairman of the Center for Christian Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary. Contact 800-992-0998 ext. 3515 or 214-841-3515, ccl@dts.edu.
• Carolyn M. Warner is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University in Tempe, and her research interests include religion, politics, patronage and corruption. Contact 480-965-5201, carolyn.warner@asu.edu.
• Jack Green Musselman directs the Center for Ethics and Leadership at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. He says he would like to see more media coverage of the way ethical norms and religious values intersect, overlap and reinforce one another (or fail to) as part of the public debate about morality. Contact 512-428-1026, jackgm@stedwards.edu.
• Elaine E. Englehardt is a professor of philosophy and ethics at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, where she directs the Center for the Study of Ethics. Contact 801-863-8129, englehel@uvsc.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST
• Read a July 5, 2006, North County (Calif.) Times report about how former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., is doing in prison. He was convicted of bribery and tax evasion.
• Mark D. Roberts is senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, Calif., and author of Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty (Waterbrook Press, 2003). He says people separate their religious convictions from their everyday lives, and the challenge for the church is to teach people how to connect them. Contact 949-786-7276, roberts@irvinepres.org.
• John Hospers is a philosopher, an emeritus professor at the University of Southern California and an editor at Liberty magazine. In 1972, he was the Libertarian Party’s first presidential candidate. Contact 213-740-4084, dreher@usc.edu.
• Darrel Moellendorf directs the Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs at San Diego State University in California. Contact 619-594-5249, dmoellen@mail.sdsu.edu.
• S. Cromwell Crawford is professor and chairman of religion at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is author of The Evolution of Hindu Ethical Ideals (University of Hawaii Press, 1982) and teaches a course on ethics in world religions. Contact 808-956-4200, scrawfor@hawaii.edu or Szabocrawf@aol.com.