A Clear Line
Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director had some interesting comments after Mitt Romney’s speech. There are three statements in particular that I would like to point out and examine in details.
The founders of our Constitution meant for religion and government to be completely separate. Romney is wrong when he says we are in danger of taking separation too far or at risk of establishing a religion of secularism.
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I was particularly outraged that Romney thinks that the Constitution is somehow based on faith and that judges should rule accordingly… …That’s a gross misunderstanding of the framework of our constitutional system.
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I was also disappointed that Romney doesn’t seem to recognize that many Americans are non-believers… …Polls repeatedly show that millions of people have chosen to follow no spiritual path at all. They’re good Americans too, and Romney ought to have recognized that fact.
Although Lynn is speaking directly about Mitt Romney in this case, I think the statements broadly apply to some long existing and currently worsening problems in our government. Many presidents and politicians have had trouble recognizing that not following a religious path is just as American as being Christian.
Actually, I will go one unpopular step further. It is just as American to be a Muslim as it is to be a Christian.
We should not be judged by our beliefs, but by the actions we take. And that is why there is a supposed to be a clear line drawn between the church and the state. Lynn clearly recognizes this line and is is still able to be a reverend. I think his statement about Romney (and anyone who has the same thinking) viewing the constitution as faith based needs to take a step back.
We, as a nation, are pushing forward a very aggressive agenda in the Middle East. We are doing this because of the belief that their attempts to create theocracies results in violence, terrorism, and the removal of basic freedoms. Anyone who advocates that our judges should rule based on religion and faith is promoting exactly what they want to destroy elsewhere.
This is not simply hypocritical, this is dangerously close to genocidal. We are willing to tell other nations that their faith is wrong and that we will “liberate” them if they do not change, but we may feel free to judge our own citizens by a different, correct, faith. This is the danger that Lynn wants us to avoid.
This is the danger I say we must avoid. And it must be done now.
Any candidate that supports the inclusion of faith in matters of the state must be overlooked as a legitimate candidate. Religion can still be personally important to the candidate, but it should never be a part of their policy.
