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Should religious organizations be prevented from participating in politics?
Results so far:
| Yes | 48% | 271 votes | Total: 559 votes | |
| No | 52% | 288 votes |
Yes
by Sean Davis
Created on: March 01, 2008
When it comes to the United States Constitution and religion, the writers of the Constitution made it legally impossible for religion to be a part of our political system. If you actually read the Constitution itself you will find that it does not say is such simple words "separation of church and state", instead it states that: (direct quote from the United States constitution article 6, clause 3)
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
To me that one paragraph from the constitution makes it illegal to allow any religion to enter into the government body. The writers of the United States Constitution going on their own personal experiences when it came to their dealings with England at the time knew that there was a definite possibility that there was a good chance that religion could creep into our government structure and tried to take measures to prevent this from happening first with article 6 clause 3 of the actual constitution as originally written and then with the addition of the first amendment.
The two things together basically says that you can practice your respective religion but you are not permitted to bring the religion itself to the table when acting on behalf of the country. Where we start learning religious obligations before we start learning our civic obligations we cannot completely take out our beliefs but we can direct those beliefs in government to do what is best for the country by keeping to the code of ethics that every organized religion teaches.
Going by what we have seen in other countries that permit religion to be a part of their government in any way you can see the internal rifts in the government and how government proceedings can degrade to a free for all or how long the law making process is to allow for heated debate to whether a law should have a secular base or a religious base.
When dealing with the facts people should be looking at the "cause and effect" aspect of what they are trying to do when they put their personal beliefs ahead of what is needed for the country. This means that people have to decide which is the lesser of two evils given the circumstances surrounding the bill being pushed through congress to become a law.
If religion were to be allowed to become a force in our government we would no longer be a democracy, we would become a theocracy with the dominate religion would be in control instead of elected officials.
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No
by Jeremy Stewart
Created on: June 15, 2009 Last Updated: June 20, 2009
There are so many religious organizations that have deeply impacted the freedom and rights of others throughout history. The most important thing to realize is that organizations are led by individuals and individuals are influenced by their religious beliefs.
Many people want to bring up the fact that the American Civil War ended slavery. It is a very American sense to attribute all great social reform to the United States. The fact that William Wilberforce was the main proponent in the British parliament to abolish the slave trade is a great example of "religious" involvement and how it contributed greatly to the reform in the government of a nation.
One can even look to the country of India where the caste system has enslaved millions. Mahatma Gandhi was extremely against the caste system and desired to have a form of democracy. His form of democracy was simplified down to the individual level. His ideals were revolutionary in changing the landscape of Indian government. His religious beliefs were a great influence on him and motivated him to bring about civil rights in India.
A more modern civil rights and social reformer was Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a Christian reverend who brought about great reform in the United States.
Stepping back further into history we come to Martin Luther. He sought to bring about reform in the Roman Catholic Church. He is famous for his 95 Theses, but what most do not realize, is that he was one of the major proponents of change that began within Christianity. Rome had made Christianity into a money making business by selling indulgences, preaching to people that they could save themselves and their relatives from hell if they paid money to the church.
There is so much more history that could be used to establish the importance of religion. If religious organizations are taken out of involvement in politics, then where do politics draw their moral influence from? All must agree that within politics there must be some sort of moral system that guides the politicians, without it there is great corruption.
Since the removal of God from public and government places has occurred, the morality of the United States has been on the decline. The growth of violence in our society is a great indicator that there is a moral deficit. If we want to see the complete failure of a nation we will remove the religious involvement in politics. That country will follow in the paths of so many before it, the Soviet Union (Stalin and Lenin), Germany (Hitler), Kosovo (Slobodan Milosevic), North Korea (Kim Jong-il), etc.
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