, 1922-07-14
Religion in Politics

THE TIME was in this country when there was
l. more of religion in politics than there is corrup-
ltion in the present day. 1t is true that we have
fallen upon a time of laxity in morals in public
matters In many places 1t has reached a situation
to shame the better element of the community. It
is especially so in the larger cities. That &c is SO
is through no fault of American systems or insti-
%tutions. 1t is SO because the moral element of the
community does not assert itself. The moral cleo.
tors do not attend primaries and see tc it that
moral men are nominated and they fail to go to
the polls and vote to elect moral men to office.
What is true of large cities is true in lesser de.
gree of many smaller ones
Chicago has had a reign Of crime and misgov.
eminent for several years. The good people of that
city have long desired deliverance. They have the
means in their own hands if they but used it for
there is no community where the moral does not
outnumber the immoral population
The Evening Post of that city makes a plea for
religion in politics which ought TO reach the con-
seriousness of the better folks Of that city and
arouse them to action. 1t says:
"'Religion has no business in politics We used
to hear that statement frequently. We still hear it
more often than the increasing intelligence of our
times i~ustifics.
eff religion has no business in politics. then the
man who believes in God has no business being a
citizen, he has no business voting, he has no bust.
ness, being q candidate for office or holding office.
a man of religious faith must either take it into
politics or deny it The test of the sincerity of a
mans religion may be found in the way he marks
his ballot.
I'VE are speaking now of religious faith in its
DtOooSSS iditn budb mikeS o T1glteOUS-
ness, whether it be Protestant, Catholic or Jewish
We agree that politics is no sphere for the fighting
of battles over religious differences, but we insist
it is a sphere in which all men, of whatever creed
who believe in God, and so believe in a moral order
in decency, honesty, justice and the supreme i'm.
portance of spiritual values, must unite to win for
their faith a victory over the opposing forces of
evil.
ITO be specific-and it is useless to talk of re-
ligion and practical politics in other than specific
terms-the men and women of Chicago who profess
raI pfnn faith ~n-1I H. 49,.
ton, disorder, lawlessnes, Bookkeeping and vice n
they would put their faith to work in civic affairs
and make it count effectively on primary and cleo
ton days.
'"The conditions which shock good citizen-so
cafed-and which are deplored in sermons and
prayer meetings, exist because so MANY of these
good citizens neglect to register, or are too busy
to vote, or because many of them, when thew do
vote, allow themselves to be influenced bv marty on
fractional considerations, business interests. lodge
Notwithstanding but their duty to God.
1t is not the practical politicians who are most
deserving of condemnation for the fragrant and
abominable evils which obtain in Chicago. indy.
ment must begin at "the house of God.r The neg.
lect and fatthless2ess of the church people, who are
overwhelmingly the balance of power in any pri-
mary or election, must first be condemned.
-fractcai politics has an ally in the underworld.
Religion has largely left it to this unsavory and
crlmepromoting comradeship. Politics is too dirty
to touch, says the respectable and finicky church
man, forgetting that his God-given Job is to beln
make a dirty world cleaner. So gambling fIourishes,
VICE rs PROJECTED, Dootieggers are secure in their
traffic, corruption spreads from the unbofv alliance
of politics and sin into labor unionism and business
Childhood and youth are demora1ized and BETRAYED.
After singing rescue the perishing' the congrega.
ton is dismissed with the benedicfim.
IF politics is to be good for anything It must
be practical Ii religion is to be good for anything
it must be practical.
The question is, for what is POLITICS to be good?
1t is practical now in order to be good for the ioh-
holder and the machine, for the contributing con.
tractor and the boys-intrenches who do the dirty
work 1t is practical now in order to be good for the
man who wants a special privilege or to evade the
law; for the favored dive-keeper or boolmaker. If
politics is to be good for Chicago's homes, for its
children, for its decent men and women, for its