I may detest what you have to say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. –Voltaire.

Sure, some French hippie said that in the 1770s. But it feels like a first amendment related  quote doesn’t it. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I am definitely not a constitutional scholar, however I think there is a reason that amendment was first. The spirit of it defines much about who we are as a country. It addresses our inner desire to be independent to ourselves and to be able to express ourselves freely. I wouldn’t define myself as a politically active person. I vote, but give my money to non-political charities and causes. Today I am going to talk a little about politics.

Article 6 paragraph 3 of the constitution specifically states that our Senators and Representatives shall be bound by oath to support the constitution, but that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Our legislation and judicial rulings are derived from the constitution. The Amendments are the postulates from which our laws are created and judged by.

Our Constitution even protects a person’s right to disagree with the constitution. The KKK, Neo-Nazi’s, Communists, and even extreme fundamentalist Liberals are protected by our Constitution. Beliefs, Religions, and Ideas are protected. What they might lead to, are not, murder, discrimination, fraud, and throwing fake blood on people who wear fur. The constitution defines what our laws look like not what our hearts and minds should look like.

I am a Bible believing Christian. My relationship with God is the most important aspect of my life, more important than everything else. The Bible contains the postulates from which I strive to live my life. It defines my love for my wife, my friends, my neighbors, my community, and even the world as a whole. It allows for my support of our constitution and the laws that are derived from it. If I am remembered by one thing I hope it is that “Jonathan walked with God.”

That being said, I would vote against any Law requiring a specific religion, even mine. If God would have wanted mankind to all walk in a line, he would have made it so. I agree that our government and laws should not determine or restrict individual political or religious beliefs. The first amendment and article 6 paragraph 3 are well written and needed to protect us from ourselves. Neither have jurisdiction to personal beliefs. Neither control what our press reports. Neither dictates what a political candidate believes in.

However, to expect a candidate for political office to keep their religious views private is ridiculous. It is a farce to demand a person keep what they hold most important quiet, to expect them to misrepresent who they are and what they support, in order to please those who may have different opinions.

Yes, there shall be no test. No legal requirement. No quota to meet. A candidate is allowed to be who they are. Voting eligible citizens are allowed to vote for whom they wish, based on their own test. When we choose who to vote for, we test a candidate against our beliefs. If they don’t pass we don’t vote for them. Our democracy promotes and protects this test. It is our foundation, beneath even our constitution.

Freedom of Religion, separation of church and state. Yes there shall be no laws against a specific religion. But we live in a republic; we elect representatives to make our decisions for us. These representatives are people, not laws. They are protected that same constitution as we are, they are allowed to believe in what they want. We either vote for them or not.

To ask a person to not take their faith into consideration when making political decisions is trivializing that faith. Trivializing it like it is a fashion soon to go out of style. I admit it is difficult when we live in a world of hypocrites and fashionistas. How can you take personal beliefs serious when we live in this post-modern culture of sarcasm and irony? It is easy to believe, the seemingly logical axiom that with all the false and misguided, religion should take a backseat position. It is just as easy to disbelieve a career politician who talks about change.

People often talk about all the evil done under the guise of religion as an argument against it. I would say that most religions would agree with you, about the evil part anyway. Humanity has done many horrible things throughout time under the guise of anything they could hide. Today is no different whether it is under the guise of the Palestinian Refugee, or the Insensitive Corporation, or the Struggle against the Axis of Evil. People do horrible things. But don’t discount displaced people, our employers, or our own government. To say that all is bad would be to leave the whole story off the table. We live in a complex and intertwined world. Conflict is unavoidable.

Now we all know the rules. “Don’t talk about Politics or Religion in polite conversation and light company.” Why not? Politics and Religion are two topics that people hold of high importance and are bound to disagree on. I have never understood why it is thought that these are two separate topics. Both are about “solutions to problems,” “How you define right from wrong,” “Who is going to fix it.” If we have already broken the rule once, and we are talking politics, why stop there.

I have said before that there isn’t a candidate that represents me well. I am going to have to choose the lesser of two wrongs. I will test the candidates against my values, beliefs, and positions on subjects of debate. Then I will vote accordingly. I support your right to do the same. Test your candidates against your values, beliefs, and positions. Vote for your right candidate. But we are not in a position to demand that our candidates not talk about their values. If we do, then we are being the censor, we are the ones drawing lines in the sand.

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