The Welshness of Hillary Clinton

Carl Bernstein offers an insightful piece on Hillary Clinton's religion. I was struck not only by the acumen of the references to Wesley and the Methodist tradition, but also by the specific reference to the Rodhams "in the Welsh countryside" accepting the message. Because the Welsh are little celebrated or understood in America, Welsh influence on our politicians is often ignored. But the Welsh psyche is very different from the English, and the influence can be pivotal, and given that Senator Clinton's people only fairly recently came over from Wales, I think understanding this side of her personality is helpful.

I won't attempt a complete analysis, but here's a bit, as it pertains to politics and religion:

Evangelical Christianity has been a huge influence in Wales, portrayed vividly in the wonderful Hugh Grant film, "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain." Because most Welsh belong to "Non-Conformist" churches, rather than the once-Established State Church - after a long battle, they got it disestablished, about a century ago - Welsh Christianity has a popular base, not an elitist one. And it's always been closely tied to a sense of community solidarity, a striving for social justice, and a sense of protest against the inequities of the established order. Senator Clinton's favorite saying, "It takes a whole village to raise a single child," comes from Africa, but it has a bit of a Welsh feel to it.

There was another prominent modern US politician with a Welsh background (and name): Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. Humphrey was stereotypically Welsh not only in his passion for social justice and for community solidarity, but in his rousing (and verbose) oratory and his strongly emotional nature. Mrs. Clinton seems less Welsh in the last-listed traits, but she shares much of Humphrey's political approach. And perhaps there is a common origin, in Welsh Christianity.

Drill Deeper:

• Welsh Christianity
• "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain"
• Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr

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