Jonathan Zimmerman: Is Tony Dungy's Born-Again Christianity Superior?

[Jonathan Zimmerman (jlzimm@aol.com) is author of"Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century."]

It's hard to find a problem with Tony Dungy, who coached the Indianapolis Colts to victory in last Sunday's Super Bowl. By all accounts, he treats his players with genuine respect and decency. He's also a loyal husband and father, suffering through the 2005 suicide of his son with quiet grace and dignity.

And he's a"Christian," as Dungy likes to remind us. That's where the problem begins. No, not with Dungy's faith. As an American, he has every right to believe what he wants and to recruit others for that belief. That's a no-brainer.

Instead, I'm troubled by the implication that Dungy's version of Christianity is the only"real" or legitimate one. Christians are every bit as diverse as America itself. And lots of them see the world very, very differently than Tony Dungy does. In a post-game interview on Sunday, Dungy was asked about the"social significance" of the game - that Dungy and the Chicago Bears' Lovie Smith were the first black coaches to face off in a Super Bowl. Dungy acknowledged the importance of race, but said that the coaches' shared faith was even more noteworthy.

"Lovie Smith and I [are] not only the first two African Americans," Dungy told CBS's Jim Nantz,"but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord's way."

Huh? Weren't any prior Super Bowl coaches Christian?

By my count, every single one was. Indeed, the championship trophy that Dungy hoisted on Sunday is named after Vince Lombardi, a devout Catholic who spent two years training for the priesthood.

What distinguishes Dungy and Smith is their born-again Christianity, not their"Christianity" per se. And the problem starts when we lose sight of this distinction.

Only one-third of American Christians call themselves"born-again," which refers to a Biblical passage from the Book of John:"Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again." To achieve eternal salvation, most born-again Christians say, you need an intensely personal and transformative spiritual experience. The rest of us will go... well, you know where we're going.

Politically, meanwhile, born-again Christianity is also associated with opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Not every born-again Christian shares these views, of course. But most do. That's why Tony Dungy will be the guest of honor next month at a dinner hosted by the Indiana Family Institute, which is spearheading a proposed amendment to the Indiana constitution that would deny marriage privileges to homosexuals.

Again, Dungy has every right to endorse this campaign in the name of his Christianity. But most people who support gay marriage are Christians, too - and they are every bit as Christian as Tony Dungy. So are the millions of Christians who reject the idea that we'll all burn in hell unless we get born again.

By ignoring these important distinctions, Dungy and his devotees echo the worst aspect of modern American identity politics: You're either black, or red, or yellow, or"Christian," and there's just one way to be that. Listen to all of the absurd debate about whether presidential aspirant Barack Obama is"really" black, and you'll see what I mean.

Of course Obama is black. African Americans comprise an enormous array of beliefs, values, cultures and lifestyles. And so do Christians. Tony Dungy says he follows the"Lord's way," and more power to him. But there are many different ways to follow the Lord, and Dungy's isn't any better than yours. Or than mine.