I am a huge supporter of personal faith. I defend just about any religion from attack, including newer religions such as Mormonism or Scientology. However, I believe that personal faith is not appropriate within the public sphere of governance. Being a private citizen is VERY different from being a public official. Offering a general prayer for good fortune is different from offering a specific prayer to a Savior to give salvation to a particular individual or group of individuals. Public officials who represent all Americans are constitutionally bound to show no deference to one religion [over-simplification, but the essence of my view]. However, there seems to be a growing trend of individuals not simply stating how religious they are, but how non-religious or how deviant their political opponent(s) are.
From Article Six of the Constitution:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
These individuals are essentially creating a Religious Test. Not one enshrined in law or written down on paper, but a Test in the eye of the public. For the sake of historical memory, I wish to add this link on Presidents and Religion. From there you can find more information on Founding Fathers, etc... if you desire.
So, who might I be referring to when I say that someone is creating Religious Tests?
Governor Huckabee.
I am very disturbed by many of Governor Huckabee's comments:
"Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
**His opponent Mitt Romney is Mormon.
"I do not necessarily buy into the traditional Darwinian theory, personally."
**I would feel comfortable with a president who accepts Evolution, but I can let this comment slide. He just needs a science adviser.
"I think that students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism."
**This is a big problem. Creationism is a specific set of religious beliefs. It is NOT neutral. It is utter opinion and belief. There is no empirical evidence or data that would lead one to accept Creationism as science. Any president who believes that students should be given exposure to Creationism believes that students need specific religious instruction from our public schools.
And then there is his recent television commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xn7uSHtkuA
Notice the cross? Some think the cross was put there on purpose, others say the "cross" is simply a window or something that appears as a result of light. Well... do you remember the "rats" commercial from 2000?
My point: Many people will say or do anything to win. I fear Huckabee is willing to exploit religion, perhaps even more so than Bush, in order to win. The worst part of Huckabee's exploitation is not that it appears to be a continuation of Rove's use of Nixon's Southern Strategy (but for religion), but that Huckabee is so brazenly and openly talking about bringing Christianity to Government. Couple that with Huckabee's "accidental" attack on Mormonism, and this devout Agnostic (and secularist) is very much afraid of what might happen were Huckabee to be the Republican nominee.
Anyways, have a good holiday season. If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas. If not, then I hope you are enjoying the week.
Also, Bah Humbug.
-Zen Blade
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