The United States was founded, by our Founding Fathers, with an emphasis, on the need, for separation of church, and state! Unlike, most nations, they purposely, did not wish, to have, a State Religion, because, they wanted to emphasize, the hopefully, welcoming nature, of the new nation! Based, on that, although, religious institutions, have been granted, tax – free status, etc, one of the requires, has always been, no, official, politics, was permitted, on the premises, of that institution! In the past, few decades, some individuals, seem to want to make some sort of religious, litmus – test, a key component, of granting political support, etc! If, we don’t fight this tendency, sooner, rather than later, and, demand, strong adherence, to the principle of separation of church and state, we risk losing our identity, and pact, with our citizens! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 specific reasons, we need to maintain this necessary, separation.
1. Evangelicals: Although, they have always, had some influence, and followers, the power and following, of the so – called, Evangelists, and growth of the Evangelical Movement, has increased, significantly! Is it, simply, coincidental, many of these individuals, leading a so – called, church, etc, have increased their personal, financial status, significantly, etc? How about the rights, and freedoms, of members of other religions, and/ or, non – believers? While the Constitution granted, Freedom of Religion, it did not, state, one must believe in, and/ or, be a member/ belong, to any, specific one, but did state, religious rights, granted the right, to be an atheist/ agnostic, if he chooses!
2. Right to Choose: What should an elected, and/ or, public official, follow, our country’s laws, or, religious edicts, and/ or rules/ guidelines? For, over a half – century, Roe v Wade, has been considered, the law, of our land, and it granted, women, the right to choose. Every individual has the personal right, to believe, otherwise, and act, accordingly, but, it doesn’t change, out nation’s laws! Since, elected officials, are elected, to serve and represent, all our citizens, and their rights, even if, they disagree, personally, with certain aspects, we must prohibit, excessive influence, over them, by specific churches, church members, or movements! When, in the last, few days, the Bishops of the Catholic Church, in this nation, voted, not to offer a devout, Catholic, President Biden, certain aspects of his religion, because he supports, these rights, even though, he disagrees, as part of his religion, isn’t that an attempt to exert, excessive, political influence?
3. Preaching – politics, from the pulpit: Ministers, priests, rabbis, and other, religious leaders, must never, preach – politics, from the pulpit! If, they do, they must not be entitled, to their tax – free, status!
4. Some churches are mega – businesses, yet, pay no taxes!: We must evaluate, where the fine – line, between, religious institution, and mega – church business, is? While, religion, is an important, protected right, when church, and state, mix, it is, a concerning, situation!
5. The degree of polarization/ intolerance, against certain religions: In recent times, the number, frequency, and severity of hate – crimes, especially, against certain, religious groups, ethnicities, races, etc, is contrary, to what, this nation, must stand for, and represent!
Individually, there are many great things, about religious involvement, as well as, the democratic, political system! However, if the line, gets blurred, we all lose!
Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, Director of Development, consultant, professionally run events, consulted to thousands, conducted personal development seminars, and worked on political campaigns, for 4 decades. Rich has written three books and thousands of articles. Website: http://plan2lead.net and LIKE the Facebook page for common sense: http://facebook.com/commonsense4all
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