State Department Site Posts Pompeo ‘Christian Leadership’ Speech
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By PJ Grisar October 15, 2019
The separation of Church and State is widely accepted as enshrined in our constitution. But that didn’t stop the State Department from posting a 24-minute video of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent speech on “Christian leadership.”
In the clip, which was posted alongside a transcript on the department’s homepage October 14, Pompeo addresses the American Association of Christian Counselors in Nashville, TN. He speaks about his relationship to his Christian faith and emphasizes how it guides his work as the head of U.S. diplomacy.
“We should all remember that we are imperfect servants serving a perfect God who constantly forgives us each and every day,” Pompeo said. “He keeps using us to do a higher work. And my work at the State Department, as it is for those who work alongside of me, is to serve America each and every day.”
Pompeo seems to have anticipated that this speech might draw some heat, saying, “I know some people in the media will break out the pitchforks when they hear that I ask God for direction in my work,” before quoting Abraham Lincoln’s admission that he often prayed.
Politicians routinely refer to their faith. They attend prayer breakfasts with faith leaders and end speeches with “God Bless America.”
“There’s obviously no issue with the secretary of state being a leader, nor his being a proud Christian,” Aaron Keyak, the former head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told the Times of Israel. “But it’s a problem that Secretary Pompeo thinks it’s appropriate to put those two words together and hold an official State Department event on being a Christian leader.”
PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture fellow. He can be reached at [email protected].
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
