As a Christian-in-progress and a political animal, I have a lot of trouble with the concept of the separation of church and state. Contrary to popular belief, the United States was not founded as a Christian state. Most of the Founding Fathers were deists and the only mention of religion in our highest documents is one clause of the First Amendment, which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It seems simple enough on its face, but everyone draws a different interpretation from those 16 words.
On the one hand, my beliefs guide my decisions, so I don't have a problem with applying that to my actions in the public sphere. On the other hand, religion can be a tool of oppression and my understanding of Constitutional law tells me it needs to remain far removed from government. How do I reconcile that?
Some of the current presidential contenders have made remarks about tearing down the wall between the Church and the Capitol. They believe strong Christian values can turn this nation around, but I'm not so sure that's how it works.
For one, I worry about religious oppression. In the last decade, we have proven ourselves to be extraordinarily intolerant of other faiths. Christians think they're superior to everyone else and it's easy to see why other traditions are marginalized — Christians dominate the political stage, especially on a national level. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that of the 535 members of Congress, 304 are Protestant. An additional 156 are Catholic. There are just 3 Buddhists and 2 Muslims in the 112th Congress (and none of them are senators). What results is nothing less than mob rule, where the 86% who self-identify as Christian believe they have a monopoly on morality.
I just don't know what to think. Christians don't have a terribly good track record when it comes to governance (ie. the Crusades, the Inquisition, and Nazi Germany), but I can't shake the feeling that I could be on the wrong side of the argument. And so, I am left right back where I started, pondering the question: What role should faith play in the affairs of state?
I believe that "government", whether actual politicians or the people who vote for them, ought to strive for the common good of all. Now of course people won't all agree on what this means, but there are certain things we can all agree on. Many religions and cultures are much more similar than we often think (Christian and Muslim views on morality are quite similar, Buddhist and Christian philosophies also have much more in common when examined closely, etc.) So I believe that we can reach a lot of common ground.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't see a problem with a majority of Christians in government for a number of reasons. First, everyone will vote based on their individual world view, and saying one person's world view is less valid than another's because it’s based on religious sentiment is rather nonsensical (neither philosophy nor theology are objectively provable, after all). Secondly, roughly 76% of Americans are Christian, so it makes sense that many Christians are in government (whether it is because of Christians voting, or because, statistically, any given politician has a 76% likelihood of being Christian). And simply because most politicians happen to be Christian, that does not mean they are a monolithic "mob" who share some sort of hive mind (compare Nancy Pelosi's politics to Rick Santorum.) Being disturbed by America's large percentage of Christian politicians would be like living in Japan and being upset by the number of Buddhist/Shinto politicians— that is, it doesn't make much sense when you consider the country's demographics.
As for religion causing oppression, I have to disagree. Any group in power can oppress people under the guise of religion or liberty or any ideal really. Saying Christianity caused Nazi Germany is like saying Liberty and Brotherhood caused the Reign of Terror: leaders occasionally paid lip service to these ideas to get more sway (Also, though a baptized Catholic, Hitler was no friend of the Church. Many priests were sent away to death camps).
My point is, did Christians do some bad thing in the name of God. Of course. We are humans, after all, and all humans are sinners. But have terrible things been done for non-Christian reasons? Well, considering Viking pillages; human sacrifices by various folks; Toyatomi's invasion of Korea; the Rape of Nanking; Stalinist Russia and Maoist China, the Holocaust (again, the Nazi's paid lip service to Christianity, but were much more into atheism or more often the occult); genocides in Darfur and Rowanda; forced sterilizations in the 30s in America and the one's currently happening in China; plus the numerous oppression of Christians in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Malaysia; I would say the answer is yes. So the bad things that Christians have done were not done because they were Christian, but because they were human.
So bringing this all back to your question: What role should faith play in the affairs of state? The role that any other philosophy/worldview should play. You as a citizen should vote for the ballot measures that you sincerely believe are for the Good (and of course that would be actually workable) and for politicians whom you think will really represent you and do what is best for each citizen. And Politicians ought to work for what they believe is truly good and what adheres to the Constitution, a document which allows for a great amount of religious freedom. As long as a politician follows the laws of the Constitution, he can talk about religion as much as he wants. The president openly espousing the teaching of Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha or Richard Dawkins isn't going to harm any of us so long as he truly respects the 1st Amendment and hinders no one's practice of any religion.