National Religious Campaign Against Torture Announces June 11, 2009, Event at the White House

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has just announced an event they will be sponsoring at the White House on Thursday, June 11 to begin their Torture Awareness Month and to press the President on the need for a Commission of Inquiry. This is great news and I encourage everyone to visit their website.

Here is the email I received from this group today: 

Dear NRCAT Supporters: We have some exciting news.  NRCAT is organizing a major religious public witness at the White House at Noon on Thursday, June 11 to help launch Torture Awareness Month and bring a strong message to the President about the need for a Commission of Inquiry. There are already five heads of faith groups and other senior religious leaders who have agreed to join us at theWhite House on June 11.  They are the Rev. Dr. John Thomas (General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ), Archbishop Vicken Aykazian (Armenian Church in America), Rabbi Steve Gutow (Executive Director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs), Dr. Ingrid Mattson (President of the Islamic Society of North America), and the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon (General Secretary of the National Council of Churches). These leaders are helping us to reach out to other senior religious leaders. We are also actively recruiting heads of regional religious bodies (e.g. diocesan bishops and directors of regional Jewish councils) to stand with us on June 11.  And the best news is that we have received grant funding to help cover travel costs for these senior regional leaders.   Many of the details remain to be decided (check this webpage for updated info and resources), but we want to get this initial announcement to you right away so that you can build it into your local action plans for Torture Awareness Month.   We need your help to make this a powerful event with the potential to change the course of the debate on investigating U.S.-sponsored torture.  Now is the time. NRCAT is the sole sponsor of this event so that we have full control of the tone and message to ensure that it is an explicitly religious event with religious ritual and a high degree of gravitas.  We hope to have 1000 people of faith, including large numbers of clergy in clerical garb, joining these senior leaders at the White House. What you can do: Encourage your regional faith group leaders (e.g., "bishop-level" clergy or a rabbi who serves as director of a regional Jewish council) to travel to DC to participate in this event.  Please contact us with information about regional religious leaders who may want to participate in this witness (campaign@nrcat.org). Encourage local clergy and people of faith to consider traveling to DC to participate in this witness.  Download and copy this flier to help promote the event. Use this event as a focal point/reference for your local organizing in June by connecting your local activities and media outreach to this national event.  For example, consider organizing a local religious witness on June 11, and be sure to inform Members of Congress that any meetings you have with them during the last week of June, to talk about accountability and the Commission of Inquiry, is part of a national effort that includes this witness at the White House. We look forward to working with you to make this a powerful part of our overall June witness. Don't forget to order your copy of the 18-minute DVD study resource "Ending U.S.-sponsored Torture Forever." And tell us about your plans for June by completing this brief survey. Thank you. Sincerely, Linda Gustitus, President Rev. Richard L. Killmer, Executive Director

Stunning Pew Poll Results on Religion & Torture

Photo from a NowPublic news story: Guantanamo anniversary sparks world protests

Data from a Pew Research Center survey conducted April 14-21, 2009, among 742 American adults. Other religious groups not reported due to small sample sizes.

Question wording:

Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?

This Pew poll about religion and torture is very disturbing. While the other polls show the religion of the respondents they do not link the religion with the answers to the other questions.

It's very interesting to note that the highest percentage  against using torture comes from respondents who say they are unafilliated and go to church rarely or never. 

According to the poll, the more often you go to church the more you support torture. Wow. That's a real eye opener.

I think based on this poll that quite a few of our churches need to do some soul searching. I hate to say this but in my view this willingness to torture "terrorists"  may sadly be due to the faith of the terrorists. It would be interesting to see if they polled these same people and presented the question from the perspective of the Iraqi government and asked them if it they thought it was justified to torture Christian terrorists in order to obtain important information. I have a feeling the answer might change dramatically and that thought is very disturbing. If I'm off base on the reason, I'd love to hear what others think might help explain these numbers.

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. - Mahatma Ghandi

In the NYT survey this was the result to a similar question:

Do you think it is sometimes justified to use waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques from a suspected terrorist, or are these tactics never justified?

37%    Justified

46%    Never Justified 

  7%     Depends

10%    Don't know 

I also went back to the 4/23 WaPo poll and found this information about using torture. The numbers in the circle were an earlier poll so things are getting worse.

30. Obama has said that under his administration the United States will not use torture as part of the U.S. campaign against terrorism, no matter what the circumstance. Do you support this position not to use torture, or do you think there are cases in which the United States should consider torture against terrorism suspects? 

Support not using torture 49% (58)

There are cases to consider using torture 48% (40)

No opinion 2% (2)

The NBC/Wall Street Journal did not ask this question.

UPDATE: Jim White at Oxdown Gazette also has a post up on this topic

UPDATE 2: Newsweek and the Washington Post have a discussion about this topic on the Post's website