Ramaswamy was closer to the truth than Pence on Americans and religion at GOP debate | Opinion

At times, the first Republican presidential primary debate sounded like a sermon, with eight preachers instead of one.

But two hotheaded speakers (and not the two I thought would come out swinging) decided to tackle the soul of the nation.

While just about everyone mentioned their faith and values in some way from the stage, former Vice President Mike Pence and the newcomer, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, differed on what America has become.

Ramaswamy called it an identity crisis and said America is in a “dark moment.” Pence disagreed, saying Americans are faith-filled, God-believing people.

Both might be wrong, and perhaps Pence more than Ramaswamy. More about this in a moment. Let’s look at their backgrounds.

Onstage, they bickered like they were on the schoolyard in recess. But while 26 years separate the two, school choices apparently link their values in some way: Ramaswamy attended a Jesuit Catholic high school in Cincinnati and Pence (from Indiana) applied to a Catholic university in Washington, D.C. (He didn’t attend.) Ramaswamy is the son of Indian immigrants, and Pence, who has called himself an evangelical Christian, grew up in an Irish-Catholic home.

Ramaswamy acted every bit the brash young upstart, needling Pence. In turn, Pence appeared to be truly annoyed by him. The two clashed on American values in the midst of debate topics such as abortion, crime, support for Ukraine and Donald Trump. (Trump was not there, embroiled in his legal battles. Nevertheless, he had a fan in Ramaswamy, who called him “the best president of the 21st century.”)

Ramaswamy chided: “It’s not morning in America,” ruing that GOP North Star Ronald Reagan’s hopeful outlook on our country’s future is no longer reality.

Religion, patriotism, work make ‘national identity crisis’

“We’re in the middle of a national identity crisis. And I say this as a member of my generation. The problem in our country right now, the reason we have that mental health epidemic, is that people are so hungry for purpose and meaning at a time when family, faith, patriotism, hard work have all disappeared. What we really need is a tonal reset from the top, saying that this is what it means to be an American.”

Pence protested this idea, saying, “We don’t have an identity crisis,” calling for government “as good as our people.”

“The American people are the most faith-filled, freedom-loving, idealistic, hardworking people the world has ever known,” Pence said.

Maybe he should have specifically said Christian evangelicals.

Christianity Today reports declines in church attendance and affiliation since at least 2009. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 churchgoers reported attending less often. And a study from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center projects that those who call themselves religious, or affiliate with certain faiths, will continue to fall, with self-identified Christians dipping below 50% by 2070.

These declines are happening in all faiths, except evangelicals.

Maybe it was natural to talk about values because the debate on Fox News opened with a clip of country singer Oliver Anthony’s much discussed music video, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” The song refers to leaders in Washington, D.C.

These rich men north of Richmond

Lord, knows they all

Just wanna have total control

Wanna know what you think

Wanna know what you do

And they don’t think you know

But I know that you do

‘Cause your dollar ain’t s***

And it’s taxed to no end

‘Cause of rich men

North of Richmond.

Or maybe it’s just a topic that was bound to simmer and rise to the surface, as The Atlantic explored last week in its commentary from conservative pundit David Brooks, “How America Got Mean.”

Ramaswamy said, “We’re in an internal sort of cold cultural civil war, and we have to recognize that.”

How, indeed.