-- Part Two of Two --

nother Lieberman group is the Center for Jewish and Christian Values, operated by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. The purpose is "to improve the moral climate in our country by bringing together Jews and Christians in support of a common set of principles and programs on which to build amore moral society in America." This includes effort to "protect religious expression in the public square and public schools," "Oppose derisive portrayals of faith and religion often found in films and on television," "Provide(s) practical ways for Christians to show their support for Israel and an undivided Jerusalem," and "Fight(s) worldwide persecution of Christians by supporting legislation that protects religious minorities overseas."

   Joining Lieberman in the CJCV are:

*    Gary L. Bauer -- head of the influential, Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council and former GOP-presidential nomination hopeful.

*    Charles Colson -- Watergate crook-turned-evangelist, head of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and close pal of Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

*    William Bennett -- former drug czar, values guru and head of Empower America

*    Jack Kemp -- another Empower America founder, former VP candidate in 1996 with Bob Dole and a major "charitable choice," and "community renewal" booster.

*    Kay James -- Dean at Pat Robertson's Regent University, vice president of the Family Research Council, and member of the national commission which examined the impact of legalized gambling on society.

*    The Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury -- little known in the United States, the Baroness is a member of the British House of Lords, and heads Christian Solidarity Worldwide and Christian Solidarity International. CSW has claimed to have bought "slaves" in the Sudan, but has come under attack for what say are wild and unsubstantiated charges having to do with the status of Christian missionaries and others in Third World countries. Some Muslim groups have accused Cox of being part of an effort to undermine Middle East governments, and justify certain U.S. foreign policies which assist Christian political factions.

   Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network gave full play to Cox's allegations in November, 1998 with a broadcast focusing on the slavery allegations.

   The "Gay and Lesbian Humanist," U.K. in its Spring, 1999 issue links a homophobe group, The Christian Institute, to Baroness Cox. The goals of the Institute include "to challenge humanism, relativism and other ideologies, to proclaim Biblical truth as relevant to every area of life," and "to equip Christians for action."

   Cox was also a member of the "Commission of Inquiry into Fetal Sentence" sponsored by anti-choice groups in the U.K.

*   George Weigel is a biographer and "Catholic intellectual." He is affiliated with a number of groups promoting the involvement of sectarian organization in public affairs through advertising theories about "civic society." These include the Discovery Institute, which operates the Center for Renewal of Science & Culture," and has been linked to a "stealth agenda" to promote acceptance of creationism and make it palpable for public consumption and instruction in school classrooms. Weigel writes on international affairs for "The Christian Activist," ("A Journal of Orthodox Opinion.") and was selected by the pope to craft the official papal biography. He defines John Paul II as "the embodiment of transformed humanism," and said that the papal visit in January, 1998 to Cuba "caps the century's run from atheism to liberation by faith in God."

   Weigel was part of a "group of political destabilization specialists" operating various fronts linked to the intelligence community which seek to use religious indoctrination to advance political agendas. Sarah Diamond, author of "Spiritual Warfare, The Politics of the Christian Right," (Boston, South End Press, 1989) traces Weigel's ties through the Byzantine labyrinth of psy-war fronts and shadowy organizations like the National Endowment for Democracy, Puebla Institute and the Peace, Freedom and Securities studies program.

*    Jeane Kirkpatrick is former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., and linked to Weigel and others through a network of groups. She is also one of the four original founders along with Kemp and Bennett of Empower America, and shortly after the 1992 elections joined Bennett in release a document known as the "Index of Leading Social Indicators" which was a transparent blast at the Clintons who were dubbed "cultural revolutionaries" for their stand on gay rights and abortion.

The Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensburgy is little known in the United States, but she is linked to a homophobe group, the Christian Institute. The goals of the Institute include "to challenge humanism, relativism and other ideologies, to proclaim Biblical truth as relevant to every area of life," and "to equip Christians for action..."

*    Richard D. Land is executive director of the Southern Baptist Convention's "Christian Life Commission." In the early days of the George Bush administration, he warned the president that "active courting of the homosexual lobby by your administration goes far beyond any argument of being president of all the people ... (and) grievously damaged your administration's standing among many of my constituents. The elder Bush had committed the "sin" of first meeting with a group of magazine executives that happen to include Christie Hefner, daughter of "Playboy" founder Hugh Hefner, and allowing members of the gay ACT UP group to be spotted at a ceremony for the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Land is considered the liaison between many religious right groups and the SBC.

   Lieberman is part of a growing coalition of political liberals, conservatives and religious interest groups which see an important role in the future for faith-based organizations. In conferences, interviews and publications, there is constant reference to "civil society" -- networks of public and private organizations, including churches and other religious groups -- as a positive and stabilizing element in human affairs. Ideologically, while they may differ over details, this movement appears to agree on several essential points.

   They denounce "moral relativism" and "postmodernism," suggesting that fixed principles -- inevitably religious teachings which, while promoted under different faiths, can reveal a common "truth." They attribute this "nihilistic historicism and relativism" to the logical breakdown of the Enlightenment, and its supposed "faith in Reason." What comes after this moral relativism will be a "reconstruction" of society along lines which emphasize "liberal, democratic civic culture and civil society," according to one advocate. While this vision lacks the hard edge of, say, Christian Reconstructionism (which seeks to implement a harsh, Old Testament law as the basis of a godly society) advocates of "civil society" would erode the separation of church and state, insulate sectarian movement from the interference of government, but promote an extensive role for faith-based institutions in daily life, often at public expense. Advocates of "civil society" also frequently speak of notions like "Authenticity" (becoming "who one really is.")

   Lieberman, for instance, was a May, 1998 panelist in a seminar -- "A Call to Civil Society: Why Democracy Needs Moral Truths" -- organized by the Council on Civil Society. He shared the podium with Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), "End of History" theoretician Francis Fukuyama, and public opinion pollster Daniel Yankelovich. Among the suggestions from the "civil society" gurus -- instituting "family hour" activities in homes, making it more difficult to obtain "quickie" divorces, and reforming the tax code to facilitate charitable choice programs. The U.S. Supreme Court was chided for its ruling that supposedly create "a society sanitized of public religious influence," In its story on the conference, the Seattle Times noted: "Religious institutions are urged to reassert themselves into American life... Government is urged to embrace charter schools and school choice, and end state sponsorship of lottery games which 'purvey a counter-civics ethic of escapism and false hope.' "

   Another example of the "civil society" agenda was enunciated at the founding of the Center for Judeo-Christian Values. An April 12, 1996 report from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency ("Conservative Jews and Christians forge public policy") quoted Center President Yechiel Eckstein: "Our goal is to transcend and heal divisions -- those between Jews and Christians, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives -- and to seize those shared values in public policies that are unfortunately being ignored and shunned because of the polarization marking our differences..."

   At a news conference to announce the formation of the Center, Lieberman told media: "When we do not respect and build on the religious impulse that is shared so broadly in this country, we are depriving ourselves of one of the great sources of strength and unity and morality that we have." Also at the microphone was Ralph Reed, then the Director of Christian Coalition, who gushed: "We believe there is far more that unites us as Jews and Christians than divides us..."

   The Center announced that its first goal would be to support Sen. Coat's "Project for American Renewal," a 19-bill initiative "suggesting ways the government can strengthen families and communities through tax credits and grants."

   Sectarian discord has long been a fact of life within religious movements. In the 19th century, for instance, "Bible riots" erupted on the east coast of the United States as gangs of Protestants and Roman Catholics battled over whose version of the Bible was to be read in the public schools of that era. Some evangelicals have offended their religious brethren by insisting that "God does not hear the prayer of the Jew," (or Muslim, or other group). The vision of ecumenical unity has eluded even the powerful Roman Catholic Church which has been attempting to absorb other religious bodies, including the Anglican and Orthodox.

   While some applaud the efforts of "civil society" advocates, in their distrust of the Enlightenment and robust individual rights the separation of church and state is often a casualty of ideological war. Publications, think tanks and various nonprofit groups -- from the Discovery Institute to the Center for Judeo-Christian Values in America -- all propose what amounts to a serious realignment in the balance between church and state. The activist programs of "civil society" proponents often involve demonizing real or imagined enemies, use of polarizing language ("filth," "perversion"), and for civil libertarians call into doubt pledges that government should not be a tool of last resort in legislating morality. In the Council on Civil Society report, for instance, pop music sensation Madonna was denounced for her decision to have a child but not a husband. Will "civil society" boosters, when they fail to attain their political objectives through persuasion, turn to the power of government? Would civil liberties suffer as a consequence of crusades to stamp out certain types of expression?

   The involvement of religious group in the "civil society" utopia raises questions about the separation of church and state. Sen. Lieberman joins a Democratic ticket where Vice President Gore has already enthusiastically embraced "faith-based partnerships" between religious groups and government. So has Texas Gov. George W. Bush, who has pledged several billions of dollars to encourage such programs. Lieberman's involvement with groups like Empower America, and his indirect ties to more hard-shell religious activists and political operatives (Ralph Reed, Baroness Cox, George Weigel) raise gnawing questions about what role the First Amendment would play in the brave new world of "civil society."

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