Faith and Politics

I read an article a while ago called "What it means to be a Liberal Person of Faith". While this might seem like an oxymoron to some people, we are out there. If you haven't read the article, I encourage you to do so. It is well written and brings up many good points. You can find the article here.

I've been meaning to write about this article since I read it, but I figured after the Iowa Caucuses and the speeches from candidates that followed after, now would be a good time to discuss this. If you listen to the speeches that candidates gave after the votes were in on Tuesday, almost all of them mentioned God and thanked God. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a Christian and I have no problem if you want to mention God or even thanks Him. After all, He does great things. The problem with most of the speeches after Tuesday is that they felt almost like a sermon. This is where politicians need to be careful not to cross a line. They need to remember that there are other people of different faiths out there.

Going back to the article, it talks about what it means to be a "liberal person of faith". The quote from the article is this:

"It means to believe in God... It means to draw on religious teachings and beliefs when making judgments about matters of public policy. But at the same time, it means to know that when we, as people of faith, make a public argument, we must ground our statements in reason and a language of morality that is accessible to everyone -- to people of different religions, for example, or of no religion. It means to understand that "person of faith" does not only mean the Religious Right... It means being concerned about the poor and the needy, and giving a fair shake to all... It means that we share many of the concerns of conservative people of faith... It means that we welcome dialogue with our fellow citizens who have a more conservative religious viewpoint..."

These are some of the things it means to be a liberal person of faith. Not that our faith is the right way or the only way for that matter. Not that we don't take our faith into consideration, but that we also take everyone else into consideration as well. 

Christians are not the only people here in America. America was in fact founded on religious freedom - not Christianity. So if you're a politician and a Christian - great! I have no doubt that their faith makes them who they are as a person. But they have to be willing to open the doors for conversations with people of other faiths. They have to be willing to understand that their personal belief in something might not be the best action for the entire country. They have to understand that there is a separation of church and state and it is there for a reason. Don't forget, there are many different types of people of faith out there. They deserve a voice too. 


Another reason why I decided to write this post today was because of another article I read, although this one was rather more frightening. Rick Santorum placed a very close second in the Iowa Caucus on Tuesday. But even so, not much is known about him and he really hasn't gotten much media attention before now. I didn't know much about him either so I'm not claiming that I did. One thing I did know however were his extremely conservative beliefs. Now, as a liberal, that's already not going to make me like someone very much, but after reading this article and hearing some of the things Santorum believes, I really don't like him. In fact, I'm scared to think of what would happen if he were to get into the Presidency. Read the article here.

To understand this article plainly, here is a quote that sums it up: 

"Plainly put, Rick Santorum wants to convert our current legal system into one that requires our laws to be in agreement with religious law, not unlike what the Taliban want to do in Afghanistan."

Of course, his religious law would be the Christian law. The ironic thing, of course, is that Santorum has also been telling everyone that "Muslims want to impose Islamic law -- called Sharia law -- upon non-Muslims in America." Exactly what he wants to do, but it's okay if he does it because he's a Christian. What?! No. That's not how things work, buddy. America is not a Christian nation and how anyone can think it would be okay to make our laws in agreement with a specific religious law is beyond me. I mean really, how is this okay? That is not what America stands for - at least not the one I believe in. Yes, I'm a Christian and I have faith, but I acknowledge that not everyone shares my same faith.

The article states that Santorum has not shied away from these thoughts either. And he has stated that his policies would be based on "biblical truth". Some of the possibilities if Santorum was in office?

• Rape victims would be forced to give birth to the rapist's child. Life begins at conception you know.
• Gay marriages would be annulled. He also supports a federal constitutional amendment that would ban them - which is totally unconstitutional and would totally destroy all current gay marriages and their families.
• Santorum would also ban all federal funding for birth control and would be okay with making it illegal if states wanted to. 
  

That is not the type of place I would like to live. All of Santorum's beliefs are a direct danger to the separation of church and state. Although I know this is an ironic choice of words for me to use, but I pray to God (my God) that there are not enough people in America that also support these ideas.

Finally, one thing that I personally find ironic... most conservatives want less government. Less government control in our lives. But they have no problem pushing their faith and beliefs on all of America.