Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Chocolate and bacon are great things, just not together — much like religion and politics.
Politics and religion can guide lives. They conflict with one another so much that mixing them is deadly.
The First Amendment reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” There is a good reason why the framers of the U.S. Constitution included the separation of church and state in the First Amendment: to protect the rights of everyone without the infringement of one religion in favor of another.
Take a look at countries whose politics are directly a result of a religious view. There, it is illegal to believe differently, which was one of the prominent reasons for the establishment of the U.S. Entwining religion with politics would be a return of the ideals the founding fathers were against.
Mixing religion with politics inhibits fairness. Often, topics that are seen as the most controversial, like gay marriage, are because of religion.
The main argument against gay marriage is it is wrong according to the Bible. However, refusing gay marriage is unfair and violates the unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness for people who are gay and wish to get married.
Focusing on the candidates’ or the voters’ religion acts as a blinder. Rather than basing their decision on the topics that matter — such as the economy, foreign affairs, education and many others — some voters instead pick the politician who most resembles their religious views, even if that means disregarding their stance on important subjects.
The U.S. may have been a Christian nation once, but its current diversity no longer reflects that. People argue that by losing that title, it somehow means they lost their right to be Christian, but it is an invalid argument, based on the Constitution.
Though the morals instilled by religions are generally good — don’t kill people, don’t steal, respect your elders and so on — because their importance and subjects differ between groups and religions, they cannot be the basis of government.
While people cast their votes all over the nation today, they should set aside their religious beliefs and decide, which presidential candidate will fix the economy, protect civil rights and make the best decisions for such a diverse country.
Mónica Rojas is a journalism freshman and may be reached at [email protected].
The problem with “losing that title” is that we have swung to a point in this nation where the ONLY religious viewpoint no one cares about offending is the Christian one. For other flavor of religion we are constantly preached to that we MUST be tolerant. But just let a Christian speak their mind and express their opinion. We aren’t the one’s carrying out honor killings and cutting of hands for theft. Wonder when this country is going to wake up and realize that the tolerance preached by so many MUST extend to ALL religions – Christians included!
I see you have been drinking the kool-aid! The framers did NOT include a separation, they said the government would not CREATE a state religion like England did.
I wish more and more people understood that by stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” that what they are saying is that a “National” religion will not be created or enforced. You…get that YOU are free to your religious beliefs. However, what most Americans fail to see is that THEY are putting THEIR beliefs in politics. Asking who is what religion and then deciding against them because their beliefs in RELIGION do not match yours. If that was truly the case and everyone did that, we would NEVER vote anyone even from the same church. No one has 100% the exact same beliefs. What we NEED to focus on is tolerance and the truth. Tolerance for people to have their own opinion without someone taking it personally. Truth, because both sides take a portion of something and misconstrue it to their favor. Religion should absolutely NOT be in politics. If you want to be God fearing then fine, who cares, just allow the rest of us to live our lives and work for our country to do the right thing and not the God fearing thing to do. Besides, for all those that are such strong believers, why are they always the first to condemn someone? I thought that was Gods job?! I believe 100% that people need to step out of their religion and do what is best for the nation. Not what they think God wants or what they think they have the right to put onto others. I hope one day that all Americans see what is best for the nation and not just their own beliefs. Oh however, I must tell you, bacon and chocolate actually go pretty good together. You should have used lamb and tunafish 😉
I believe that there are two kinds of people in the world, good people and bad people. I have only one commandment: DON’T HURT ANYONE.
Chocolate and bacon are awesome together
Telling people that their religious beliefs are ok as long as they keep it to themselves is NOT freedom of religion. Little by little, people of faith (and yes, it does seem as though Christians are being targeted these days) are experiencing government intrusion into when and where and how they can speak their mind. Issues are not clear cut. One person believes in abolishing the death penalty yet promotes abortion. Another is pro-life for the innocent unborn, but is ok about psychopathic, serial killers getting a lethal injection. If neither tax dollars nor education of children were affected by these differences, then it would be easier to keep the realms of politics and religion somewhat separate. But these moral dilemmas crop up over and over again. Should my tax dollars be allowed to pay for something I find to be immoral? Should my tax dollars help pay for having 8th grade children exposed to a graphic video of abortions under the tutelage of a teacher who embraces the “miracle of abortion,” when every fiber of my being tells me that it is immoral? And if it is my 8th grade child, why should I have to obey a compulsory law that insists that my child be so educated about this, and at this age? We cannot curtail free speech. We must insist on civility and respect, but we must never infringe on free speech.