Religion in Politics

"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics know not what religion is."

-Mahatma Gandhi

As I’ve formerly stated in my blog, “Truth is analogous to culture, and therefore every culture will have varying worldviews on what is accurate.” It stands true that many Western civilizations are much more faith-based than out too-often materialized American culture. Is it right that we as a society have so extensively accepted pragmatic empiricism to be the ultimate means of democracy? Is it accurate to wholly close our eyes to religion in politics so as to simply avoid conflict?

The United States has a long-standing practice of separating church and state, yet in recent years, an even more potent tendency to subtly blend religion into politics. Throughout American history, the majority of the momentous political and social movements – from the 1865 abolition of slavery to the 1921 women's suffrage movement to civil rights throughout the middle of the 20th century to modern disputes over abortion and gay marriage – have adopted religious establishment for moral authority, motivating guidance and organizational strength.

So should there be a separation of church and state to allow for diversity of religion, or should there be an established common bond in this sense? As a read in a recent article, an August 2007 poll was taken by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press which revealed that the majority (69%) of Americans think that it is essential for a president to have firm religious principles. On the other hand, though, a considerable bulk of society (63%) believes that churches should not support candidates during voting campaigns. As Benjamin Whichcote once stated, "Among politicians the esteem of religion is profitable; the principles of it are troublesome."

Personally, I believe that both religious values and political stances are personal preferences, and should be treated separately as so. But with religion becoming more and more deeply woven into the fabric of our political system, it looks like the 2008 presidential campaign will pose more of a religious battle than any election ever before.