Protestantism

» Brian Tubbs - What is Religion's Role in Politics

For those that have the time, I'd be interested in your comments on this article, which I wrote for AssociatedContent...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

» Migisi - What is Religion's Role in Politics

In response to What is Religion's Role in Politics posted by BrianTubbs:
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Since you asked for comments:
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When politicians spout their faith publicly, I always question their motives. Are they using religion for political advantage - simply playing the religion card for the Christian audience to gain their support and votes? Just because a candidate (or incumbent) might aspouse to Christianity, does this make them more trustworthy? Are they immune to, or divinely protected from, political and personal scandals because they're Christian? Doesn't appear so, given the numerous scandals which have plagued the conservative Christian Republican party.
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You quoted Obama in your article. Are you going to vote for him? Maybe you've read this already?
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My Spiritual Journey - Barach Obama
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...
Page 9
(quote)... "The first and most difficult step for some evangelical Christians is to acknowledge the critical role that the establishment clause has played not only in the development of our democracy but also in the robustness of our religious practice. Not only has America avoided the sorts of religious strife that plague the globe, but religious institutions have continued to thrive--a phenomenon that some observers attribute directly to the absence of a state-sponsored church.
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"Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.
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"What our deliberative, pluralistic democracy demands is that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals must be subject to argument and amenable to reason. If I am opposed to abortion for religious reasons and seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or invoke God's will and expect that argument to carry the day. If I want others to listen to me, then I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.
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"For those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do, such rules of engagement may seem just one more example of the tyranny of the secular and material worlds over the sacred and eternal. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Almost by definition, faith and reason operate in different domains and involve different paths to discerning truth."... (end)
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He's an astute politician. He has my vote.

-- posted by Migisi