The question has been posed as to whether or not religion and moral views "should" be handled politically. However, before we can discuss what should be it would only be proper to discuss "what is" to establish a realistic context in which this subject may be approached.
Why is every session of Congress opened with prayer?
Why does the President of the United States place his right hand on the Bible when he is sworn in as President?
Why does the Pledge of Allegiance include the words, "One Nation Under God"?
Why does our national coinage include the words, "In God We Trust"?
Why in the court of law are you asked to promise to, "Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God"?
This is only a brief sample of some of the ways in which "religion" has been interwoven into the fabric of our political structure. Scholars refer to this as Civil Religion. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that our Judeo-Christian heritage is foundational to our worldview and identity as a nation. An understanding of the dynamics of Civil Religion is essential in any debate upon the subject of Separation of Church and State and the question of whether or not religious/moral issues should be "handled" politically.
If we are to acknowledge the political system of the United States as a democracy which guarantees both freedom of speech and religion then the opinion of the religious community becomes essential in the political arena. Every successful politician that has ever run for office in the United States understands that the majority of Americans embrace a Judeo-Christian worldview and the consequences of offending the Civil Religion of our nation. Consequently, savvy politicians will appeal to the religious community in an effort to promote their religious morals within a political context; hence, their policies and laws.
At this point in this article it would only be appropriate to emphasize that the question of this debate is not whether politics should be handled from a religious/moral perspective. But, rather, whether religion and morals should be handled from a political perspective. And, in as much as our political system guarantees the separation of Church and State we have never seen, nor shall we ever see, a law decreed over our nation by the direct authority of a Church. The Catholic Church does not possess the direct authority to impose any law over the population of our great country. Neither do Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Muslims, Mormons or any other organized religion possess the authority as an institution to legislate morality. However, it is the mutual values of the members of these large religious communities which become a powerful force in our democracy to influence politics.
Who has the right to tell us what we can or cannot do? In a democracy it is the voice of the majority that has that right. It just so happens that America is still a country in which the majority of the people embrace Judeo-Christian values and morals. Who has the right to silence them?
© Mark Parsec
