In 1802, in a letter to the Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson referred to the First Amendment as a tool to create a "wall of separation" between church and state.That wall has been slowly chipped at over the centuries and is in grave danger of losing its foundation as churches have become more brazen in the way they approach politics.
Recently, a proposition put before California voters to outlaw gay marriage received widespread support from a number of churches.
According to figures published by the Los Angeles Times, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ponied up about $20 million in support of the ban on gay marriage, with Roman Catholics and evangelical groups adding to the coffers.
The donations have drawn protests, and rightfully so, because churches are nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations that, according to Internal Revenue Service rulings, are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to influence elections to public office, which includes referendums.
Yet, it continues.
This past week, the head of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, told Catholic lawmakers they should follow their faith when setting policy under the new presidential administration.
The reason, of course, is that President-elect Barack Obama supports stem-cell research and is pro-choice on abortion - positions that oppose Catholic doctrine.
In the past, Dr. Billy James Hargis, Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell and Pastor Daniel Little were fined for egregious violations of the IRS code. Little, who led an aggressive anti-Bill Clinton campaign, saw his church lose its tax-exempt status.
That's exactly what the IRS should do in this case.
Pulpit politics have no place in this country. This is a democracy, not a theocracy. We have seen the mistakes of religious blocs voting in a righteous candidate and the failures that followed, especially over the last eight years when decisions made by this lame-duck administration were anything but religiously inspired - particularly the unprovoked attack on Iraq.
Contrary to popular belief, the United States was not formulated along the lines of religion and the Ten Commandments. This country was put together by a bawdy bunch of men who used a Bible as a doorstop rather than an outline for founding a nation.
In fact, the First Amendment ensures that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
That means no prayer in our public schools; no display of the Ten Commandments in a courtroom; and no religious doctrine disguised as law.
This country is in full-tilt fury over a number of issues that ignite similar passions.
There is continued misunderstanding and, at times, down-right hatred of undocumented workers.
There is an anti-gay movement bordering on homophobic hysteria under way. Are people really that self-conscious about their own orientation that they have to be so fearful of those who embrace an alternative lifestyle?
The population favors capital punishment, which completely flies in the face of traditional Christian values.
Our elected representatives are supposed to represent all of their constituents, not just those who punch into the same religious affiliation, ethnic background or economic strata.
That's where the true danger comes into play because once you ignore the needs of one social, ethnic, religious or economic group, it becomes easier to ignore the needs of another.
Especially if you use the name of God in doing so.
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Sotto Voce
(Source: TSC)