As we come to the end of what will surely be known as a banner year for "moral values," it seems only appropriate to reflect on the place of religion in American politics and daily practice.

Much post-election punditry equated Christian beliefs with moral values and suggested that Christians were the most unified and potent force in politics in 2004. This oversimplifies America's relationship with religion. It gives a false impression that a monolithic interpretation of Christianity exists among us and that religious devoutness equals red, and red (never blue) equals morally right.

Oversimplification of American religious belief and practice is a brilliant political strategy. It polarizes our society and mobilizes extreme positions at either end of the political spectrum. While two opposing, irreconcilable viewpoints duke it out, real issues go unaddressed.

How did we get here in 2004?

Step 1: Imply that America's moral values rest solely in a Christian tradition.

Step 2: Fuel the misperception that the best advocates for those values are the most fundamentally strict adherents to this tradition.

Step 3: Suggest that you are fundamentally more moral than the other guy.

American religious practice is less conservatively Christian and much more diverse than campaign slogans and sound bites suggest. In reality, no one party has a monopoly on religious believers, and the moral values the majority of Americans support have a lot more to do with fairness, equality, responsibility and dignity than the hot-button issues that dominated 2004.

Ten years ago, 90 percent of American adults subscribed to an organized religion. Today, only 81 percent do. Seventy-seven percent of the country is Christian, according to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey. But more than 48 million American adults are non-Christian. These include individuals who devoutly practice Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and other religions, as well as those who are agnostic and atheist.

The number of Americans who identify with a religion other than Christianity grew by 32 percent in the last decade, while the number of Christians grew by only 5 percent. The number of Americans who do not subscribe to any religion more than doubled in that time period. In fact, this group is now more than 14 percent of the population. That is larger than the percentage of conservative evangelical Christians who supposedly turned the presidential tide in 2004.

According to the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the government should be fighting poverty by taxing the wealthy, and close to 60 percent want to see strict environmental regulation as well as an active role by the government in helping the disadvantaged. Close to 60 percent of the country believes that gays and lesbians should have the same rights as other Americans, and 85 percent believes abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances.

Americans are evenly split about whether organized religion should be involved in politics. Roughly the same percentage of Americans (39 percent) sees religion as important to political thinking as sees it as unimportant (37 percent). And while 39 percent is still a substantial number, it's down from 2000 and 1996, while the percentage of Americans who see religion as unimportant to political thinking is actually on the rise.

While moral values did emerge as a top issue in this year's exit polls - cited by 22 percent of respondents - its prominence largely depended on how the question was asked. Moral values also only barely nosed out the economy (20 percent) and terrorism (19 percent) for the top spot. In reality, the issue of moral values was far less important in 2004 than it was in 2000 and 1996, when 35 percent and 45 percent of Americans named it a top priority.

Still, if moral values is the story of the year, let's at least get that story straight.

American moral values do not belong to just one side, to one Western religion or Christian tradition, to so-called red states - or to blue ones, for that matter. American moral values are, by definition, ours - all of ours. These values include equality, social and economic justice, environmental responsibility and democracy. They are rooted in philosophical and ethical beliefs that run deep and over which no one group has a monopoly.

One of the most dismaying aspects of this year's election was the attempt and relative success on the part of extreme partisans and conservatives to hijack the meaning of moral values and to recast guardianship of them as the special privilege of a few. More than a few of our officials owe their election or appointment to this hijacking.

The year leaves us with no doubt that Americans believe strongly in the moral values of fairness, equality, justice and democracy. Our leaders should remember that support of these values is a responsibility, not a partisan political opportunity.

Jennifer Wheary is a senior fellow at Demos, a public policy organization in New York City.

© Copyright 2005 Denver Post

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