The Biden administration is leaning into the "devout Catholic Joe" narrative as part of a presidential rebranding in an attempt to get Christians to support him.
Brands do it all the time-update their logo, change their communications, and adapt new concepts to market their products. Just like brands, presidents can also rebrand, change their minds about certain issues or values. The same can be said for the Biden administration, whose efforts to brand Joe as "devout Catholic" has been more than indiscreet.
Since the beginning of his campaign, Biden has leaned into his "devout Catholic Joe'' persona in the effort to win over more Christians to his side of the party lines.
Joe Biden is known to many as the former Vice President of the United States during the Obama administration. But he also has several other epithets.
As per LifeSite News, Biden is known as the Scranton native, "the blue-collar guy who understands the plight of the working class," and of course Joe the father who lost his first wife and daughter to an accident a little after he was elected senator of Delaware in 1972, and his son to brain cancer in 2015.
His personal life experiences shaped his political outlook, painting him as a man who is relatable, even to the most regular people. But nothing seemed to be more relatable than devout Catholic Joe.
In September 2020 during the presidential campaign period, NPR noted how the now head of the Biden administration has always spoken using religious rhetoric. According to the report, his campaign was called the "battle for the soul of the nation," the central theme of sorts in his campaign to win the presidency, which he eventually did, but not without challenges.
Joe Biden, whose name was often prefaced with "devout Catholic," is now called the second Catholic president in American history next to John F. Kennedy.
But why is it important or possibly dangerous for the Biden presidency to lean into the devout Catholic Joe narrative? The reason behind this is that as President of the United States, devout Catholic Joe Biden is now trying to redefine what it means to be Catholic or to be Christian in order to fit a certain agenda.
It is evident that throughout his years of public service, he has not been consistent with the Catholic values that he holds so dearly, leaning to more liberal ideologies than most Christians would prefer.
For one, the Biden administration has made a commitment to "codifying Roe v. Wade." Devout Catholic Joe Biden reversed a ban on U.S. foreign aid providing support to "groups that fund abortions or provide referrals." This is commonly known as the "Mexico City Policy."
Rev. Jeffrey Kirby of the Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Indian Land, South Carolina described Biden as "someone who is now going to suffer and persecute the church for the next four years. That, on top of the fact that he supports the slaughter of the unborn."
Biden also signed executive orders forcing biological women in schools to compete with transgender women --biological males who transitioned to becoming "females"-- and for the military to accept transgender soldiers and even pay for transgender sex change procedures.
Various reports say these moves are against God and the Bible, and are anti-science. Some said he canceled women and women's sports. A Catholic Archbishop even said that his actions go against basic human life and dignity.
Finally, it's difficult to imagine a pro-abortion, pro-LGBT president as someone who is also a "devout Catholic." While Joe Biden does tick the boxes of outward signifiers of Catholicism-regularly attending mass, speaking with biblical language, aligning himself with priests-the Biden administration needs to take a closer look at how they are affecting the definition of what it means to be Catholic in this day and age when things can be easily redefined-or rebranded-to suit one's agenda.
