Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton seem to have the best "Scripture games" of the current presidential candidates, argues Jacques Berlinerblau, associate professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He analyzes how Democratic and Republican candidates are using the Bible to court the religious vote in his new book, Thumpin’ It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today’s Presidential Politics (Westminster John Knox Press, January 1, 2008).

Mixing religion and politics is not just for Republicans. Since the 2006 midterm elections, the Democrats have taken a page out of their opponent’s playbook. Their presidential frontrunners quote the Bible, consult religion advisors and tell their own faith stories while on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, the Republican candidates, except for Mitt Romney and the recently surging Mike Huckabee, seem to have lost their biblical edge.

Berlinerblau's work evaluates the Scripture games and religious imaging strategies of the major Democratic and Republican candidates, and of past candidates and recent U.S. presidents. He offers guidelines for improving one’s game, including mastering the most effective techniques: “the cite-and-run” and “the generic.” He also examines how the Bible is invoked in debates about the environment, stem-cell research and foreign policy.

Of the current crop of candidates, Obama, Clinton and Romney (none of whom is an evangelical) seem to best understand the unwritten rules of how the Bible is used in American political discourse. Effective Bible thumping should be light, not heavy; theatrical, not substantive; rhetorical, not policy-oriented.

“A public servant can thump away about ‘what my Bible tells me’ without being expected to supply any rationale or supporting evidence,” Berlinerblau says.

Masters of the craft like George W. Bush and Bill Clinton employ Scripture-citing effectively, routinely salting their presidential rhetoric, ever so lightly, with scriptural allusions. Both have scored back to back national elections, Berlinerblau points out.

But in the hands of the unskilled, it can be disastrous he notes, citing ill-considered attempts by failed candidates John Kerry and Howard Dean.

“Scripture and politics are highly combustible materials. Mix them together and the possibilities for an occasional ‘work accident’ are considerable,” he warns. “When discussing the Bible in public, an element of volatility is always present.”

The danger in tossing “Scripture bombs” into political discourse is that the Bible can be used to argue both sides of a position. Berlinerblau cautions: “Not only the American experience but two thousand years of biblical interpretation have demonstrated that no empire, no society, and rarely even one denomination has ever been able to agree on what the Bible says.”

“This book uniquely combines the author’s expertise as a biblical scholar with his canny perception of the American political scene in a volatile presidential election year,” says J. Philip Wogaman, author and former pastor. “Events move quickly and unpredictably, but this kind of analysis may prove useful for a long time to come.”

Jacques Berlinerblau is associate professor of Jewish civilization in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service’s Program in Jewish Civilization. Prior to his position at Georgetown he was an associate professor of comparative literature and languages and director of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at Hofstra University. He is the author of three books including The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously, Heresy in the University: The Black Athena Controversy and the Responsibilities of American Intellectuals, and The Vow and the “Popular Religious Groups” of Ancient Israel: A Philological and Sociological Inquiry, and he has also published in many scholarly journals devoted to the exegesis and interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures. Berlinerblau received his B.A. in psychology, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University. He also received his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the New School for Social Research.

(January 8, 2008)