I know it's not polite to talk about religion or politics in public. Unfortunately I'm both religious and politically-minded, and except for sports and music, there aren't many topics of greater interest to me than these two. More than 20 years ago Richard John Neuhaus wrote a book called “The Naked Public Square” (1984), a manifesto that challenged the alleged secularization of the public square. He contended that the religious voice, which he believes is the foundation of civic life, was no longer welcome in public, doing damage to the American way of life.

I mention Neuhaus' book, not because I want to deal with it or his arguments, but because the possibility that the public square could be naked is quite real. There are many countries that deny religion any place in the public square, and there are, of course, other nations where just one religion dominates the whole of public life.

Though it often seems like there are only two alternatives - theocracy or “godless” secularism - from its earliest days the American republic has walked a third middle way. Religion has always played a significant role in American public life; this is why I decided to call this column “Faith in the Public Square.” I believe in the separation of church and state, but this isn't the same thing as the separation of religion and public life. The first is institutional, the second is personal. I can't separate my faith from my public life, because my faith involves everything about me, including my politics.

The problem today isn't that there are no public religious voices; the problem is that too many of them are strident and self-serving. People grieve the demise of western Christendom, as if the end of a triumphalist Constantinianism is the end of Christianity. As a follower of Jesus, I find it difficult to connect his life and teachings with a Constantinian view of the relationship between church and state. Remember, Jesus died at the hands of the same Roman government that Constantine later lead. Though I reject the Constintinian view of church and state, I don't believe that you can keep your faith private. In this, I'm of one mind with Neuhaus and Jim Wallis, of Sojourners, though my views are much closer to those of Wallis than Neuhaus.

I began writing this column, which has a decided public edge to it, because I believe that religion (faith) belongs in the public square. My “moral values” and my faith professions influence the way I live and the way I vote, but I also know that my values and my professions of faith aren't shared by everyone. That's why I believe that we must share the public square with each other.

American society - especially California - is quite diverse. Diana Eck's book “A New Religious America” (2001) carries a subtitle that says everything we need to know about modern America: “How a “Christian Country” Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation.” Whereas once America's religious life could be summed up with Protestant, Catholic, and Jew, today mosques and temples of all kinds dot the landscape. In theory, everyone's voice is welcome in the public square. This may be why, as a recent “Time” column suggests, America's Muslim community, unlike Europe's, hasn't become radicalized.

A civil and productive conversation about religion and politics must begin with the admission that I may not have all the truth. It'll also help if we remember that God is neither Republican nor Democrat. In fact, we need to remember that God isn't an American. I cringe when our political leaders claim that God is on our side. How do they know? After all, Osama Bin Laden believes that God is on his side.

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Because I like talking about religion's place in public life, I'd like to invite you to participate in a more personal conversation about the great issues of our day. Sponsored by First Christian Church and the Lompoc Record, I will host a forum entitled “Faith in the Public Square: A conversation about religion, politics, culture, and more” in the Grossman Gallery of the Lompoc Public Library, 501 E. North Ave. Please join me for some conversation and cookies at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27.

Dr. Bob Cornwall is Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org). He may be contacted at lompocdisciples@impulse.net or at First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93438.

Sept. 10, 2006