THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512250071
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
The moral climate in America is healthy, a top White House adviser and a leader of the Christian Coalition agreed Sunday, but they said Americans are feeling disconnected from their government.
``I think that basically there are some very good signs, more Americans are going to church than ever before. I think more Americans are trying to live their lives with some depth,'' White House senior adviser George Stephanopoulos said on NBC's ``Meet the Press.''
Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition, agreed. ``The moral strength of the American people is very, very strong,'' he said.
But both said they thought Americans are feeling separated from elected leaders, though they gave different reasons.
``I think what they feel is that their government has become disconnected from the values that they have sought to honor in their churches and in their synagogues and in their homes,'' Reed said.
But Stephanopoulos asserted that Americans' feelings of disconnection stem from actions by the Republican-controlled Congress.
``They think that the government is more and more running away from its responsibilities,'' he said.
Reed countered that Congress is not to blame. ``George and the White House are enjoying right now trying to scare the American people and making them think this Congress is going to throw people out in the snow and starve children and so forth.''
Asked whether Republicans were more closely identified with religion than Democrats, Stephanopoulos said this was not necessarily so. But he said he believed that Democrats may have gone too far in the past in separating church and state.
``Democrats in the past have been too eager to completely eradicate any sectarianism from the public square and that's been a mistake,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
On NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' Sunday, George Stephanopoulos, White
House senior advisor, left, and Ralph Reed, executive director of
the Christian Coalition, agreed on Americans' moral health, but not
on why they feel separated from elected leaders.
KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION RALPH REED by CNB