Is There a Place for Religion in Politics?
The separation between church and state, as defined in our constitution, holds true when concerning the tax exempt status of the church. However, when it comes to politics, the line becomes very thin. In all levels of government elections, there are people running on the moral basis of their religion. Even our now presidential hopefuls state that they will base their decision making on their religious moral principal.
It seems unconstitutional to me that the president of the United States of America could pass laws based on their religious beliefs. America has the most diverse population of any country. I acknowledge that a large percentage is Christian (as well as from other religious background) and they choose to govern themselves in accordance with their beliefs. That is their choice and they are free to live as they choose. What is unconstitutional, is the passing of laws that force others against their will, to sacrifice based on religious beliefs that may not be shared.
Pharmacists in some states have been given permission to legally refuse filling birth control prescriptions on the basis of their personal religious beliefs. Despite that 98% of adult women choose to use this form of contraception.
The Pro-life organization against abortion is persistent in getting laws passed against any woman who decides to terminate their pregnancy, because they do not personally believe it is right. This even applys to rape victims and women that find they are pregnant soon after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, such as HIV/Aids.
Some Christian conservatives in the Republican party say that they do not support birth control contraceptives or abortion. They suggest women should remain abstinent if they do not wish to become pregnant.
Science has also suffered due to religious beliefs in our politics. The 'war' between religion and science has crossed into our governing policy's, restricting the advancement of stem cell research, which scientists have stated is an important tool that could someday produce the cure to many illnesses.
It would be refreshing to live in a country were it practices the freedom that it stands for. When all Americans, despite their religious beliefs or lack there of, would respect each others right to choose how to live their own lives. Religious ideals should not be discussed in the political arena, no more than anti-religious remarks should.
Published by April
I am a stay at home mother of two children under the age of 5. I have chosen to not only stay home and raise my children, but also to homeschool them. Though nearly every moment of my life is dedicated to my... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentShould I, meanwhile, continue pointing out the factual errors of this article? Like the fact that the Puritans who came to America weren't exactly "fleeing religious persecution" so they could practice their own peaceable, loving ways? The Puritans were chased out of England because they were bloody psychopaths. The "religion" they weren't allowed to practice was forcing everyone around them to practice what they demanded of them. They didn't "bring" religious freedom to America, they had a strict regimen of "be like me or you're wrong" as soon as they got here.
Yes, read it and show me how unbelievably wrong I am! Do it! You know you want to! Of course, you're also missing the fact that the Constitution says nothing about the President signing laws based on religious influences - it says that Congress shall pass no laws respecting religion. It's a shame that simple points like this are overlooked in flurries of attacks though. But by all means, do what Oceano said, go look at how wrong I am.
Chadd doesn't understand that the President signs bills into law, and has the opportunity to veto. In fact, you'll see he understands very little if you read his writing and his ridiculous blog.
I don't even know where to start with how wrong this article is. I mean, firstly, the President isn't in charge of law making - and the separation of church and state you cite in the Constitution? It isn't there - all that's there is a guarantee that Congress (specifically congress) won't pass any law respecting an established religion. Pro-life? That's got nothing to do with religion. Just because X number of people who are pro-life are religious doesn't make the belief itself religious. That's what's called a logical fallacy.