Not even Kaiser Soze?

Maybe it's an incomplete list. Maybe it's intentional, an attempt to show no favoritism toward the President's former (?) denomination. But what struck me about this list is that the UCC isn't represented on it.

Of course, as the comments point out, a lot of representatives are missing from it: no Hindus, Buddhists, shamans, Native American shamans, witches, atheists, etc. There are more than a few problems with this idea, not least of which are the Constitutional issues; but those aren't the only ones, either.

But why not even a bone to the UCC, the denomination that nurtured the President's conversion from non-belief to Christianity? As Pastor Dan points out, these are the usual suspects:

So in part because it's near and dear to his heart, and in part as a reward to his moderate Evangelicals pals, whom he credits for helping him to win the White House, he keeps Bush's basic framework to keep things rolling.

Which isn't surprising: this group is about people of power, or people who want to have power. It's about denominationalism, too (the Southern Baptists are still the largest Protestant denomination in land, so far as I know). But the Southern Baptists are represented; the National Baptist Convention; Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. And yet, or rather as yet, no Methodists, Lutherans of any water, TEC Episcopalians, Presbyterians of any variety, or UCC. At least no such identified ministers, or representatives of the denominations.

Which points to many things, but points me to one in particular: the looming end of denominationalism in America. Once upon a time in this country, denominations mattered (for better or worse). But now the handwriting couldn't be clearer on the wall: it's political clout that matters, and almost absolutely nothing else.

Don't it always seem to go....?

Lord 'elp us.