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dreaweiss(edison):green party on religion
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May on Religion in Politics: ‘We don’t do God’
Posted: February 01, 2008, 11:12 AM by Daniel Goldbloom
The last time I checked, being a practising Anglican was not evidence of mental instability, as the National Post’s editorial board recently suggested (The bizarre Ms. May, Jan 29).
Of course, misreporting my views, and omitting the context in which they were expressed, made it easier for you to portray me as some sort of fanatic. My background prior to becoming leader of Canada’s Green party (at nearly 54 years of age) includes admission to the bars of Nova Scotia and Ontario, and being honoured as an Officer of the Order of Canada. I have been studying theology part-time since 2004. Your assertion that this is an odd interest for a politician is itself rather odd, given that Tommy Douglas was a Baptist minister and at least two current Members of Parliament are ordained — one a United Church minister, one a Catholic priest.
The safe response when religion is raised in a political context is the one used by former prime minister Tony Blair’s communications team. Whenever reporters asked questions about Mr. Blair’s religious views, they were told: “We don’t do God here.”
That holds true for the Green Party. We don’t do God here, either. We are a broad and inclusive party with members from many religions — and no religion. None of that is relevant to matters of policy. The policies of the Green party are developed through a grass-roots democratic process. As a party, we do not cite scripture to defend positions. As party leader, neither do I.
1. March 2009 at 02:40
Can a person be spiritual without being religious? I understand the concept of addressing issues without the influence and under the guise of religion, however, if we were to believe that which many would want us to: that this country was founded on religious principles; then how can we leave religion out of the discussion? Personally, I believe that the more pragmatic we can be in addressing those issues that concern us, the more successful we will be in resolving them.