Preaching to the Choir

This week saw Joe Hockey the Federal Opposition’s treasury spokesman present his views on god and politics before the Sydney Institute. The talk entitled “In Defense of God” was a discussion of religion’s place within a secular society. Mr Hockey argues in favour of a pluralist society that maintains the free and open competition for adherents of different religious faiths (in keeping with the Liberal Party’s own tradition of unfettered markets no doubt).

This was touted in the media as his first outing as an aspiring leader of the Federal Liberal Party. As the clouds of economic crisis began to recede into the distance and with it the dour predictions regarding the Government’s fiscal position, this was seen as the treasury spokesman’s way of canvassing a wider policy arena, and what better way of doing this than to discuss his own personal history as an Australian of mixed ancestry and cultural heritage?

The actual text of the speech is quite lucid and credible, but when asked regarding his motivation for giving it, Joe could not provide a credible response. Neither could he prevent speculation regarding his higher ambitions from occurring, his smiley face betraying his inner most thoughts (as if he got a warm fuzzy feeling from the mere notion that he might wrest the Liberal Party’s helm from its currently unpopular leader Malcom Turnbull).

Had he intended to showcase his command of matters pertaining to his treasury portfolio, he could have offered to speak on a topic made popular by the GFC, that of religion and economics. After all, his party adheres most closely to the orthodoxy of neoliberalism. This tradition has taken the outer trappings of a religion according to one author and advocates for the total separation of Markets and State. It is this belief system that Kevin Rudd’s “heretical” teachings on social democracy seek to overturn.

Given the unpopularity in recent years of this view among voters and policymakers alike, it is not difficult to see why he opted not to be the apologist for it in this occasion. But to see what shape and form a speech on this topic might have looked like, check out the beautifully written essay by a theologian posted this week and found here.

(Image taken from the Sydney Institute podcast)