- PARIS (Reuters) - The religious
overtones in President Bush's speeches increasingly grate on many ears
in Europe, where leaders invoking God in times of war are widely suspect
of misusing faith for political purposes.
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- No less than the German president, French prime minister
and Belgian foreign minister have joined religious leaders in expressing
concern about Bush's beliefs and the place of religion in U.S. politics.
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- Media commentators, especially in northern European countries
with Protestant heritages, have branded Bush's evangelical views as Christian
fundamentalism, with some even comparing them to the Islamic fundamentalism
of Osama bin Laden.
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- The discussion reflects both the widespread popular anti-war
sentiment in Europe and the deeper gulf between a continent where faith
is on the wane and an America where religious values probably play a more
prominent political role than ever before.
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- German President Johannes Rau, a Protestant preacher's
son who makes no secret of his own faith, reacted sharply this week on
n-tv television to press reports that Bush believed defeating Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein was part of a divine plan.
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- "George Bush has got a completely one-sided message.
I don't think a people gets a sign from God to liberate another people,"
he said. "Nowhere does the Bible call for crusades."
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- Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, a vocal critic
of the war, said before hostilities broke out last month that he saw Christian
fundamentalism gaining influence in Washington and added: "That is,
of course, a dangerous point of departure."
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- French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, asked about
a U.S. weekly's cover story on Bush and God, told Le Point magazine: "In
no way can God be called on for a vote of confidence."
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- UNEASE AT GOD TALK
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- Bush's firm faith, rooted in an evangelical Protestantism
that reflects an important voter bloc in his Republican party, has also
prompted questions in mainstream U.S. media about how much it colors his
stand on Iraq and his war on terror.
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- In his speeches, he has asked for guidance from "the
loving God behind all of life and all of history," hinted he believed
there was a "divine plan" for the world and warned Americans
that "we are in a conflict between good and evil."
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- These references may not seem so out of place in the
United States, where all presidents say "God bless America" and
"In God We Trust" is emblazoned on dollar bills.
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- But they stand out and sometimes even shock many Europeans
who remember how German soldiers trooped off to World War One with "Gott
mit uns" (God with us) stamped on their belt buckles.
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- "I believe George Bush's religious views are genuine,"
Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Bishop's Conference, told the
Catholic weekly Rheinischer Merkur in an interview on Thursday. "But
this careless way of using religious language is not acceptable anymore
in today's world."
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- In Sweden, invoking God in politics is so unusual that
parliamentarian Hans Lindqvist told Reuters: "I've never seen anything
like this before."
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- Commentators in Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair's
firm but discreet Christian beliefs have also aroused critical attention,
have described Bush as "chaplain in chief" and analyzed his use
of religious phrases and images in detail.
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- "For world-weary Europe, the presidential language
evokes mirth and queasiness in equal measure," The Independent wrote.
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- In France, where even practicing Catholic or Jewish politicians
shrink from mentioning religion, the daily Le Monde reacted sharply last
week to the news that the U.S. House of Representatives had called for
a day of national prayer and fasting to secure divine blessings for U.S.
troops in Iraq.
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- "This bizarre approach shocks Europeans," it
said in an editorial. Its religion correspondent accused Bush and Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein of "gross misuse" of religion.
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- "One is tempted to say the destiny of America is
in the hands of a small group of Protestant bigots," Henri Tincq wrote.
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- The religious side of Bush's thinking has attracted much
less public attention in traditionally Catholic countries such as Ireland,
Italy and Spain, where the Roman church has lost most of the vast influence
it used to wield in secular affairs.
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- Media there have focused mostly on whether the Iraq conflict
is a just war, sometimes quoting the pronounced anti-war stand of Pope
John Paul II.
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- Russia, which in its old communist days might have churned
out caustic criticism about the White House and "the opium of the
people," has also shown little interest in Bush's beliefs.
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- "Politicians now routinely invoke God and Orthodoxy
for all sorts of things," one longtime foreign resident remarked.
"You can't open a billiard hall without an Orthodox priest present."
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- (Additional reporting by Bart Crols in Brussels, Andrew
Hay in London, Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin, Patrick McLoughlin in Stockholm,
Ron Popeski in Moscow, Carlos Santamaria in Madrid, Estelle Shirbon in
Rome and Kevin Smith in Dublin).
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