The Prowler
Opposing Views: Separation of church and state - Keep religion in politicsWednesday, February 29, 2012 By Chris Barry
Religion has been a major political issue for decades, even centuries. Close to every politician has publically announced that religion has been close to him or her. In many politicians’ law-making decisions, religion has played a major role. Politics and religion traditionally have gone hand-in-hand. It has been traditional that if someone is a politician, he or she publically announces that they are religious. All four of the Republican candidates in the 2012 primary race—Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and Paul—have all publically announced their religious beliefs. Politicians have publically announced their religion, not only because they are proud of their beliefs, but that it might improve their public image. Some groups of people will or will not vote for a candidate based on his or her own religious beliefs. Certain people will vote for a politician if he or she is religious in general. It is no secret that religion has played a part in many legislative documents in our country’s history. Many politicians in Congress—the Senate and the House—have made decisions based on religious affiliations. If their religion supports one thing and is against another, a politician will most likely vote to support their religion. I t has always been a tradition that there hasn’t been much of a separation of church and state. No matter how much one person may try to separate the two, one never truly can . |