Religion has no place in politics (1 Viewer)

[Saintamaniac]

With religion being a personal issue with no proven right or wrong answer, IMO, it has no place in politics. By choosing one, you instantly alienate a segment of the population. And for that reason, the only way to fully satisfy everyone, is to not have it part of politics. I would think that this would pretty much end this discussion and negate the need for this sub forum.

 

[Tony1Sainstfan]

Well let me just say that I love all of you crazy people. I don’t care what your political believes are. I hope we all can enjoy a 2nd Saints win in Miami this year when we can forget about politics for a while.

 

[SystemShock]

I don’t know if it is that simple. If you (not you literally) oppose the death penalty and abortion based on your religious beliefs, how is that wrong? The public will vote you in or out based on your representation and the laws you enact and uphold.

In the above scenario, you personally may not agree with those policies and vote against them. I’m not sure I see this as an issue. Ones personally beliefs will always influence them and the things they do. ALWAYS!

Sure, personal beliefs, however you got them, will influence what you do. But that's not really what we are talking about. We are talking about giving Caesar what's Caesar's.

It is when you don't want to give Caesar his due that we have a problem, whether it is forcing women to wear burkas under penalty of law or county clerks denying marriage licenses to same sex couples.

 

[Lazybones]

Sure, personal beliefs, however you got them, will influence what you do. But that's not really what we are talking about. We are talking about giving Caesar what's Caesar's.

It is when you don't want to give Caesar his due that we have a problem, whether it is forcing women to wear burkas under penalty of law or county clerks denying marriage licenses to same sex couples.

I don’t disagree with you. If you don’t want to follow the government guidelines, don’t work for the government.

 

[RegularChuck]

I’m ok with politicians being religious. I cringe when politicians talk about legislation and bring up religion as if it’s some sort of justification for the proposed legislation.

Kind of like David Duke in is later years, we all know the real reason behind his positions is racism, but you can’t just come out and say it directly. Make some sort of attempt to justify your position without introducing your bias.

 

[surada]

With religion being a personal issue with no proven right or wrong answer, IMO, it has no place in politics. By choosing one, you instantly alienate a segment of the population. And for that reason, the only way to fully satisfy everyone, is to not have it part of politics. I would think that this would pretty much end this discussion and negate the need for this sub forum.

Religion has always been political. Look at the Sermon on the Mount.. Jesus was teaching passive resistance to Roman oppression. Look at the various Jewish factions that were tearing each other to pieces in the first century. Some individual Christians may refuse to be political, but on the whole religion is political..

 

[Saintamaniac]

Religion has always been political. Look at the Sermon on the Mount.. Jesus was teaching passive resistance to Roman oppression. Look at the various Jewish factions that were tearing each other to pieces in the first century. Some individual Christians may refuse to be political, but on the whole religion is political..

I'm not saying religion isn't political. It's made up of imperfect beings therefore it will be filled with politics. I'm saying that religion has no place in politics.

 

[surada]

I'm not saying religion isn't political. It's made up of imperfect beings therefore it will be filled with politics. I'm saying that religion has no place in politics.

Perhaps you're right, but I don't see religion even aspiring to stay apolitical.

 

[zztop]

I figured this would be a good topic to post this news.

 

[SystemShock]

I figured this would be a good topic to post this news.

Who need workers' rights when you have Jesus? Indoctrination comes first!

On a serious note, I wonder if those schools get federal dollars, because if they do, this should be illegal.

 

[TraumaRN]

Are human rights objective and universally binding?

That is interesting. We purport so, why the Geneva convention was created to regulate behavior under the worst stress, war.

What is awful? We violate the Geneva convention every day in this country with some of our own citizens via our judicial system. Solitary confinement has a delineated scope in it, as it is damaging, permanently in some regards, to the human brain. Kalief Browder spent almost three years locked up, mostly in solitary confinement trying to force him to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit (he was charged with stealing a backpack). He was beaten, and starved, right here in the US in Rikers. The documentary will break your heart and make you think about all of this. What is morality? What are our obligations to humanity? Are we getting it right? How does eveil start. How do we stop it?

 

[TraumaRN]

I don’t know if it is that simple. If you (not you literally) oppose the death penalty and abortion based on your religious beliefs, how is that wrong? The public will vote you in or out based on your representation and the laws you enact and uphold.

In the above scenario, you personally may not agree with those policies and vote against them. I’m not sure I see this as an issue. Ones personally beliefs will always influence them and the things they do. ALWAYS!

Right. SO I believe in the sanctity of life. I chose to be a nurse to support life. Therefore I am against the death penalty pragmatically due to cost and the potential for an error, but also because of my religious beliefs. Every person's compass comes from somewhere. Parents, culture, religion, community, occupation, what area of the country you live in. We are shaped by so many things. We have a democracy. As our views change we can change our elected officials.

 

[Yggdrasill]

I agree that religion has no place in government, hence the first and sixth Amendments to the Constitution. And this is the best thing for religious freedom, something than many religious advocates overlook. The first thing that official state-sanctioned religions tend to do is to oppress or drive out the competition.

In politics, however, is an utterly different beast. People often choose politicians who share (or profess to share) their faith; many groups lobby for laws and regulations that prescribe or proscribe behavior according to interpretations of religious principles. I find it highly problematic because it is a way to enforce religion on others (think abortion, gay marriage, teaching creationism, prayer in schools, etc.). One could argue that it is just as legitimate a starting point for policy-making as anything else, but I would disagree because it is not fact-based. One could (theoretically at least) persuade another of the correctness of a policy through facts and reason, but you can never force someone to adopt your assumptions and beliefs. Policy based on religion will never achieve consensus.

That said, I don't think it is unreasonable for a religious school to have a religious litmus test. After all, they're teaching religion and other subjects through a religious lens.