Vice President Kamala Harris concluded her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on August 22 with words that have now become required reading for political speeches in the United States: “God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.”
But not every speaker at the DNC gave that final blessing. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who introduced Harris, did not. Neither did Maya Harris, the candidate’s sister, who spoke before Cooper. Neither did Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke earlier in the evening.
Perhaps not coincidentally, former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois ended with “God bless you.” He is a Republican who supports Harris over Donald Trump. In fact, he gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month not The ending with the mention of the divine was the exception.
The DNC was different. The regular omission of the previously required spiritual farewell signaled a broader shift from explicitly religious rhetoric to a language of values that took center stage. Once the vocabulary of conservative culture warriors, moral language is now the lingua franca of liberals and progressives, and speeches at Democratic conventions are peppered with references to family values such as “liberty,” “patriotism,” and “character.”
At the convention, delegates also spoke a language of values. “When I look at candidates I support, I look for their values of compassion and tolerance,” said Amanda Farías, Majority Leader of the New York City Council, who attributes her own career in public service to her Catholic faith.
Carlina Rivera, also a New York City councilwoman, also said she appreciated hearing words like “God” and “family” at the convention. “I think those are words that have been somewhat monopolized by the Republican Party, and words that we should embrace because they are important to us as values,” she told NCR.
Terri Wenkman, a registered nurse and delegate from Wisconsin, said the appreciation for “doing good to others” and caring for the poorest comes directly from her Catholic faith. “That’s why I call myself a Catholic and a Christian, but also a Democrat.”
However, she said she sometimes finds it difficult to put those values into words, especially when speaking to Catholics who are focused on just one issue.
To teach delegates and others how to speak to a broad voting audience, the DNC’s Interfaith Council hosted a workshop on “values-based language” during the convention.
“It’s a myth that you have to choose between religious and nonreligious voters,” Sarah M. Levin, co-chair of the DNC’s Interfaith Council, said at the Aug. 22 meeting. “We’re not coming together to exchange theological views. It’s about coming together on the basis of shared values.”
Of course, there were many references to God and religion at the convention. Harris mentioned “faith” twice in her acceptance speech. Throughout the convention, Jack Jenkins, national reporter for Religion News Service, commented on social media about references to Scripture, the divine, and religion or spirituality.
But in the speeches throughout the week, there was a clear attempt to reclaim the language of values, even “family values,” a term the Republican Party has adopted since the 1990s.
Harris described how her neighbors, growing up, “instilled in us the values they embodied – community, faith, and the importance of treating others as you would like to be treated, with kindness, respect, and compassion.”
She called on Americans to “show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.”
Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz also spoke about the values he learned growing up in a small town. “The family next door may not think like you, they may not pray like you. They may not love like you. But they’re your neighbors. And you care about them. And they care about you. Everyone’s part of it. And everyone has a responsibility to do their part.”
But perhaps nothing expressed “family values” better than Walz’s son, Gus, who was moved to tears at his father’s introduction on August 21. And nothing strengthened the Democrats’ argument that the Republicans are no longer the party of family values more than the fact that some conservative commentators mocked Gus’s emotions.
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli believes his party is delivering better values messages at this convention. “It’s a very inclusive message across race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation,” he told NCR from the convention. “And it’s not just about taking care of the less fortunate, but also understanding that the key to success in America is a strong middle class.”
DiNapoli said the Democratic Party speaks to his values, which are shaped by his Catholic faith. “In a year like this, when you see the kind of agenda that Republicans are pursuing, it’s certainly not consistent with my view of how humanity should treat each other.”
Lester Aponte, who grew up in Puerto Rico and now lives in California, said his years of Catholic upbringing taught him to be “intellectually curious.” He is particularly concerned about discrimination against the LGBTQ community and believes the party can do a better job of communicating its values.
“I think I’ve heard a lot about it this week,” he said. “I sense a real shift and a sense of excitement. I’m confident we’re connecting with people.”
In view of the 30-year trend toward secularization in the United States, in which 20 to 30 percent of Americans now describe themselves as non-religious in some form, a turn to a language of values makes sense, said political scientist Juhem Navarro-Rivera at the Interfaith Council meeting.
Even religious people went to church less often, said Navarro-Rivera, policy research director and managing partner at Socioanalítica Research and senior fellow at the Institute for Humanistic Studies.
This demographic shift has political implications, he said. “People are not only turning away from their religion, they are changing their faith,” he said. “And politically, it is the Democrats who are leading this change. The Republican coalition has become more Christian nationalist and the Democratic coalition has become more ecumenical and religiously diverse.”
Navarro-Rivera noted that the term “evangelical” has become more of a political label than a religious one, but that ideology does not represent all Christians. “I don’t think there has been enough pushback from progressive Christians,” he said.
Among today’s atheists, agnostics and “non-religious” people are what Navarro-Rivera called “secularists from birth” who were raised by non-religious parents. “This is a new phenomenon that we need to talk about because it affects younger voters,” he said. “Many people are not at all used to this kind of religious language.”
Navarro-Rivera sees the changing demographics as an opportunity to strengthen the party through messages that appeal to both religious and non-religious people.
“We should not despair that this diversity exists,” he said. “Even though they have different views on faith, the supernatural and God, the same issues are important to them.”
“When I look at candidates I support, I look for their values like compassion and tolerance.”
—Amanda Farías, Majority Leader of the New York City Council
Using moral language is a strategy to communicate effectively with non-religious voters without alienating religious voters, says Isaac Wright of the Rural Voter Institute.
“We have found that moral language is just as effective as religious language among religious and secular voters,” he said at the Interfaith Council meeting. “Moral language is something that connects all faith communities and persuades and moves people.”
Democrats need to talk about their beliefs and convictions in an authentic yet inclusive way, he said. And people crave values-based language, such as references to fairness, community, hard work, self-determination and the feeling that “we’re all in this together.”
When Democrats used explicitly religious language, they should respect that not everyone shared their beliefs. This is especially true because sociologists attribute the rise of the unaffiliated to the rise of the religious right.
Levin recommended personalization, not universalization. For example, instead of saying, “Faith compels us to…”, one should say, “My faith compels me to…”
“If it’s personal to you, it’s authentic, but be careful not to exclude anyone,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you have to hide your religious beliefs.”
Wright said the language of morality focuses on what is right and wrong, but does so through narratives, stories, or even “testimonies.” He recommended that Democrats should not focus on the “spiritual side of politics” but talk about the real impact of policies.
“If we don’t define our values, the Republicans will.”
