ON SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

When our country was founded, Europe had been through centuries of bloodshed among religious factions.  Our Founding Fathers wisely set it up for us to avoid that fate.  For over 200 years, our presidents have worked diligently to separate their own personal faith from the workings of the government.  Our country was known as a place where people of all religions would be welcome and safe.  Each and every person would be free to follow the dictates of their own private faith without pressure from the government.

The Republican candidates, particularly Rick Santorum, and the Tea Party are heading toward very dangerous ground for our country.  They would like to abolish the separation of church and state and put in the rules of their faith as law.  They are frightened of Sharia Law, but this is exactly what Sharia Law is about.  The rules of faith carried out by the government.  We are a long, long ways from enacting Muslim laws into our government, but we are not that far from enacting extreme Christian laws – which would be very similar.  The Muslim laws are much harder on women, but then again, the right wing Christians are heading in that direction.

How important is religion?  There are differences between religion, spirituality, and morals, and some think that if you aren’t Christian, you will automatically be immoral.  Religion is adhering to a strict set of rules or dogma laid down by some one person in the past based on the teachings in the Bible, Koran, Hindu Scriptures, Torah, or whatever.  Spirituality is tuning into a Higher Power through your own spirit, feelings, or being, and doesn’t necessarily involve religion at all, although it can.   Morals are defined as right conduct, and the distinction between right and wrong.  You don’t need to be religious to not want to steal, kill, be deceitful, or unethical.  Most people are just nice, Christian or not, and do not need the threat of hell to stop them from wanting to hurt other people.  However, for the people who would hurt others – poison our water, pollute our air, sell contaminated food, cheat us through banks and insurance – we need laws, not religion.

We should not even be talking about what religion the President adheres to, or what religion Santorum goes by.  It is none of our business, and has nothing whatever to do with running the country. 

Doris Render