THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE has been a topic we’ve investigated deeply during the first season of Unreasonable.
We spoke with exvangelicals Bradley Onishi (co-host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus and author of the excellent “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next.”) and Dave Warnock, terminally ill with ALS, whose fight for a death with dignity has come up against the obstructionary forces of the religious right.
In a two-part episode, we spoke with Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart, an educator, activist, and former Director of Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs for the city of Philadelphia, whose talmudic approach to religion is textured by reason and questioning. “The Bible is, and has been, a manifesto for imperialism, for colonialism, for violent policies. So what do we make of this, that the same book that I read to find my own liberation is the same book that other people read to try to keep me imprisoned?” Listen to Part One and Part Two here.
THE CALENDAR READ TUESDAY, BUT CHERELLE PARKER BROUGHT SUNDAY MORNING CHURCH to her inauguration as the City of Philadelphia’s 100th mayor.
The event opened with the public address announcer asking all present to “rise and bow your heads” for the invocation given by the Reverend Dr. Mark Kelly Tyler of the Mother Bethel AME Church, who began with “Good morning, God,” and shared the parable of the prophet Nehemiah rebuilding the Jerusalem wall.
He was followed by:
Bishop James Darrell Robinson (“Whatever your faith tradition is, wherever you’re from, whatever church, mosque, synagogue, let's take a moment right now and give God the best praise that we can give him. Because of him, we're here. And we thank God for all that he's doing”);
Amir Qasim Rashad (“I bear witness there is no God, nothing, no deity worthy of worship, except Almighty God. And I bear witness that Muhammad is his messenger”);
Rev. Bonnie Camarda (“Thank you, Lord, because we are united in prayer. We are one no matter where we come from, no matter what type of background, no matter what religion. Father, I pray that you will make us one. Thank you for this opportunity in the name of Jesus. And the people say amen!”) and,
Rabbi Solomon Isaacson (whose prayer was less in praise of God than in asking God to be there for our elected officials: “We pray that all obstacles and barriers that would keep our leaders from working together are removed. We pray that individuals choose to show love instead of hate, to exhibit forgiveness instead of vengeance, and to show compassion instead of cruelty”).
Not a word from anyone acknowledging voters who might not share the same devotion to an all-powerful god. Which was a needless oversight, because:
According to a 2021 report by the Pew Research Center, 29% of all adults identify as “nones” — atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” In a progressive city such as Philadelphia, it’s fair to assume that number is even greater. And they vote Democrat. We remind Mayor Parker that at least one-third of her base does not subscribe to any religion and many door-knocked on behalf of her campaign. The “nones” represent too big a voting bloc to marginalize.
“Let me start by thanking my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” she began, “for whom all things are possible.” We would argue that it was those who worked on her behalf and voted for her that made her mayoralty possible. But why quibble?
The bigger question is: Are we really okay with so much God talk at a public event? If this inauguration were for a Republican, would we be okay with it at all?
Implicit in the mayor’s gratitude is her thanks for Jesus loving her more than her opponents. Parker is not alone in this monism. Every Oscar or Super Bowl winner who first thanks God for their victory claims the same special relationship with the Almighty. Parker comes from a tradition where such proclamations are the norm, and if she — as a child raised by a single mother, and grandparents (a domestic worker and disabled Navy veteran) on public assistance — believes that such a superpower is guiding her life and her work, so be it. To paraphrase Pope Francis: who are we to judge?
Throughout her remarks, Mayor Parker commanded the stage as a pulpit, and bully for her.
Throughout her remarks, Mayor Parker commanded the stage as a pulpit, and bully for her. After all, from both a personality and a policy perspective, there’s a lot to respect and be hopeful about. Parker came across as smart, passionate, humble and very much her own person yet reminding her audience that no aspect of her vision for Philadelphia could be achieved by one person. “I'm not Superwoman,” she said. “I can't do this alone. We need each and every one of you.”
On public safety: “We must rebuild trust between police and the communities they serve...having officers engaged in community policing, walking the beat, riding the bikes, officers there as guardians and not warriors, getting to know the people that they are sworn to protect and serve.”
On quality of life: “If somebody tells you that ‘we think she lacks compassion because she wants to be too aggressive in cleaning up the open air drug market,’ you tell them to think about whether or not they want their mother, father, sister, brother, a loved one, on the streets, openly using intravenous drugs in front of kids who have to walk by to go to school, business owners who are trying to survive, and people in the community who’s saying, please just don't forget about us.”
On housing: “We will develop a vision of what I refer to as affordable luxury, that is affordable homes with high-end fixtures for homeowners and renters. We're going to preserve and build more affordable housing.”
Then she spoke about education: “Our children have the same right to come to school and receive a 21st century education and a clean modern school building with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, as does any other child anywhere in this Commonwealth.”
To which we say, “Amen to that!”
But then she continued: And I don't care if they go to a traditional public or charter or parochial school. While we know what our obligation is to traditional public schools, it won't be us versus them, we're going to be focused on building quality seats.
What did she mean by that? Is Mayor Parker suggesting that the city financially back any school that could provide a decent education, whether public, independent or religious? We sincerely hope not.
(Though she did welcome New York Mayor Eric Adams to the event, he who infamously told an interfaith group, “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state.”)
It is our hope, as Mayor Parker embarks on this historic administration, that she relies less on prayer and more on the power of her bully pulpit to get things done.
She concluded with this appeal:
“People have said to me, Cherelle, we feel something that we haven't felt in the city of Philadelphia in a very, very, very long time. And I've said to them, thank you. But if you don't want that feeling to go away, you got to make sure you're willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work with us.
“I want people of every race, class, socio-economic status, and gender, every religion, all coming together. I have all of the hope in the world that you will join me.”
We can’t argue with that. Making Philadelphia a city that, as Rabbi Isaacson joked, “people would die to come to…well, not die…” will have less to do with the clergy’s prayers and more to do with all of us, united, rolling up our sleeves and working together.
That means all of us.
The Follow-up
Season Two of Unreasonable begins March 15.