Karl Rove Is An Atheist?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics, ReligionHas anyone in the Bush administration confided in you about being an atheist?Well, I don’t talk that much to them�maybe people think I do. I know something which is known to few but is not a secret. Karl Rove is not a believer, and he doesn’t shout it from the rooftops, but when asked, he answers quite honestly. I think the way he puts it is, “I’m not fortunate enough to be a person of faith.�
Just an interesting little historical footnote I suppose, but I honestly wonder if he feels he’s not fortunate enough.
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April 29th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Well, “not being a person of faith” is a different thing than “being an atheist,” but let’s assume, for purposes of discussion, that Rove is privately an atheist. If he were, particularly given the emphasis on religion and particularly on millenial, evangelical Christianity that the Administration has made part of its appeal for political support, it would make sense for Rove to soft-pedal actual atheism. This way, all the SBC supporters of Bush can say, “Karl Rove hasn’t been saved… YET,” and he can still be part of the team.
Justin asks whether Rove “honestly feels” unfortunate to not have faith. It’s possible he does. At times I am jealous of people with faith because for them, the world is certain and knowable. They can set doubt and ambiguity aside; they need not create a moral ambiguity or balance competing visions of “the good” when considering either a moral or a policy question. Usually, I return pretty quickly to appreciate the advantages of not having a pre-defined world vision, particularly one left over from the myths of Bronze Age nomads, but I can see how having all the answers at your fingertips, and not needing evidence to back them up, could feel liberating.
Rove’s job is to create, maintain, and build support for his political patron, who has been George Bush for the past ten or so years. He has chosen to do this by pursuing a “build the base” strategy rather than by making appeals to the center or even the center-right of the American public. So professionally, ambiguity is a singularly bad thing for Rove. He may (and I think does) honestly believe that the country is better-off under Republican government than it would be if Democrats were calling the shots, but that’s not the same thing as religious faith. And, his boss is a person of deep faith, and he may simply want to emulate his boss to better serve him.
So yes, I think there is as good a chance as can exist that Rove is being honest in a meaningful way when he expresses regret over not having personal religious faith.
April 29th, 2007 at 9:39 am
[...] Two posts that caught my eye from Justin Gardner: one on losing the WOT, and one on Karl Rove’s (non-)religion. [...]
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:01 am
More info on the Karl Rove as atheist story: http://tinyurl.com/3c3hfq