○  truth and tolerance in america  ○

ues of their creed, people of faith must speak directly about public policy. the catholic bishops and the reverend billy graham have every right to stand for the nuclear freeze, and dr. falwell has every right to stand against it.

there must be standards for the exercise of such leadership, so that the obligations of belief will not be debased into an opportunity for mere political advantage. but to take a stand at all when a question is both properly public and truly moral is to stand in a long and honored tradition. many of the great evangelists of the 1800s were in the forefront of the abolitionist movement. in our own time, the reverend william sloane coffin challenged the morality of the war in vietnam. pope john xxiii renewed the gospel’s call to social justice. and dr. martin luther king, jr. who was the greatest prophet of this century, awakened our nation and its conscience to the evil of racial segregation.

their words have blessed our world. and who now wishes they had been silent? who would bid pope john paul [ii] to quiet his voice against the oppression in eastern europe, the violence in central america, or the crying needs of the landless, the hungry, and those who are tortured in so many of the dark political prisons of our time?

president kennedy, who said that “no religious body should seek to impose its will,” also urged religious leaders to state their views and give their commitment when the public debate involved ethical issues. in drawing the line between imposed will and essential witness, we keep church and state separate, and at the same time we recognize that the city of god should speak to the civic duties of men and women.

there are four tests which draw that line and define the difference.

first, we must respect the integrity of religion itself.

people of conscience should be careful how they deal in the word of their lord. in our own history, religion has been falsely invoked to sanction prejudice -

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