Do you understand why mixing religion and politics may be the only thing that can save our country?

Well PO1 Steven Kuhn that is a excellent question and one that requires the exhaustive study for history especially in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Are you ready? OUTSTANDING!

First we really have to look at what the Protestant Reformation did to Europe and how it affected the regional Monarchs who ruled inside what today is Modern Germany but back then was call the Holy Roman Empire and was nominally ruled by Electors who were German Princes that elected the Emperor (Normally a Austrian Hapsburg). The reformation allowed these German Princes (for example the Hohenzollerns in Brandenburg) to renounce Catholicism thus cutting the power of the Hapsburg's and the Catholic Church out of their country's power structure, taking the wealth of the various monasteries and churches of the area and turning it into the personal wealth of the Monarch.

Now we come to Henry VIII, we all know the story of WHY he wanted to break with the Catholic Church (The Pope wanted to maintain influence with the Charles of Spain who was a Hapsburg and also Emperor of the HRE and so when Henry wanted to divorce Charles' sister the Pope denied it thus causing the rift) but, after Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, The Glorious Revolution, the reinstallation of William III. This WHOLE time period people were fleeing like refugees and were indeed refugees trying to escape this mad Europe filled with ever changing religions, wars, and chaos so they came to the English Colonies.

The English Colonies had their own problems but you could worship and feel confident that some king wasn't going to change his religion (and thus yours!) to get a divorce, forge an alliance, or use your spiritual wellbeing as some coin that he could spend in the name of politics. That my friend is why we have a SEPARATION of Church and State, that is also why I will shed my blood to keep it that way.

As to your last statement. No politician having gained substantial power in a nation has ever done it through honesty and integrity. There is always blood somewhere and always lies to be found. If you believe otherwise I advise you to read some history on your own.

Here is the Issue, everyone has different scales of morality. The group with "lower" moral's attack's the group with "higher" morals, because the ones with "higher" moral's tend to have some kind of divine belief, compared to those with "lower" moral's usually having a blatant hatred for divine belief, is indifferent toward divine belief, or is fair-weather in their divine belief. Naturally, those with the "lower moral's" will naturally attack those with the "higher" moral's by accusing them of imposing their religious belief's on those with "lower morals".

Should religious moral's be an element of our government? Thats a tough question, mostly because if you say No.... you are saying its alright to go around stealing, pillaging and raping... (As you remember, many of those thing's are forbidden in religion, as are they general crimes which have a victim, but saying No to ALL religious morality means even saying no to the things both sides agree upon for mutual safety) which is pretty much the complete absence of government. If you say yes, well then you pretty much have the Taliban Regime or some other extremist psuedo-theocracy. Ofcourse we looked at "Yes" and "No" being extreme absolutes, but I think you get the point that we need moderation.

Whomever is the majority culture (be it Athiests or Religious folks) should have an influence on the law's, that's the point of Democracy, the group with the most people get the most say, i.e. "Mob Rule"... Dont want to piss of the Majority of your country, they can cause a major inconvenience to your government .... but at the same time dont trample on the rights of those who don't believe in the same thing as you.

83% of American's are Christians (Acording to ABC http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90356). Logically that shouldn't be confusing to you as to why there is Christian overtone within our government and in our history. If 83% of America believes in a certain faith, it would only make sense that the majority of individuals within our government would also have the same faith as the 83% of America.

Thats why we have religion in politic's, and why its a good thing.

This is so true. People with character make great leaders. But people of character can come from all walks of life. The freedom to convey ones opinions is a double sided dagger in that it demands you to also smell, look and listen for yourself. God bless America

Always a topic of contention! I believe I understand your thinking, PO1 Steven Kuhn, and I appreciate the position you take, but I can't help but wonder: doesn't that already happen? Don't some Christians already vote for Christian Leaders on their religious preference? If I wasn't a Christian, but running for office, I doubt I would get many votes from Christians. I obviously want leaders that are honest and have integrity, but if they aren't Christians (or at least don't mention whether they are or not) does that automatically make them lesser leaders? It is my firm belief that leaders work for their subordinates as much as those subordinates work for their leaders; the same should be true for elected officials, regardless of their religion or lack thereof. I feel as though if ONLY Christian leaders were elected into office, then eventually a theocracy would rule, though it certainly wouldn't happen overnight. And what would happen to those that don't want to follow Christianity, or have no religion at all? And don't get me wrong; the same could be said if only Atheists or other religions were elected into office. I feel that the best course of action is to continue to allow all eligible individuals, regardless of religious views/culture/gender, to run for elected office. It seems to me that this is the best way to encourage open-mindedness among leaders.

While I identify with Christian values, always repeated the pledge of allegiance, always take my hat off and stand to the national anthem and put my hand over my heart. I am not a Christian. I do identify with protestants as the morals in the various gospels meaning is still relevant today. I do not believe that politics and religion are the cure for anything. Cultural shift back to a word, a word we used to use every day when I was growing up. A word which holds no meaning anymore. A word that you hear in military service, but very often doesn't have a great of impact as it should. A word that will be the rise or fall of our entire culture. A word that stands for an ideal of freedom and portrays meritocracy and reward for hard work and ownership. That word is Accountability. Our culture, our nation and the world have left that word behind 15 years ago.

Separation of Church and State is a good issue to discuss. First of all you have to look at it from the point of view of our forefathers. In their time the major political parties were also the religions or religious parties of the time. The church handled gathering of taxes and held courts much like our government does today. If a person was of a different religion of the individuals holding the court then they didn't stand much of a chance of winning their case. There was a need for courts and government to operate based solely on laws rather than on the whims of religious leaders. Our current system is based solely on laws agreed upon by the majority of parties interested. Separation of Church and state has nothing to do with taking God out of everything as is evident on the currency we use. "In God We Trust" I think it is important that individuals vote for people that best represent their religious values, social status, and that has the vision of America that they share. Many ultra liberals take the meaning way to far to the left and many ultra conservatives take it way too far to the right. People have a right to freedom of religion wherever they are in our country and some seem to forget that point. Just because teachers shouldn't be using their position as a pulpit to preach their religion to students, doesn't mean that we take God out of the schools, nor the ability of students to gather privately on their own time to study their religion, pray or discuss it among themselves. Students should be able to form religious clubs if they want for after school activities or for gatherings within the schools whenever schools allow time for clubs to meet. Keeping a separation of church and state in our government doesn't mean we take God out of everything either, a President should be able to express his religious views as long as it is during appropriate times, like memorial ceremonies, letting it be known where he attends church and what religious leaders he most admires. It is ok to pray for our country, God knows we really need it right now with all the division being preached at us from both sides. "Together we stand, divided we fall." America needs to come together on issues rather than remaining forever separated. This will take moderates from both major parties to achieve. Voting in ultra liberals or ultra conservatives will only further divide our country. We need legislators that can work together and that can compromise to achieve equitable legislation for all Americans, not just an elite few. Like I said earlier vote for those who best represent you and your needs, don't worry about everyone else. Everyone is so concerned about everyone else or losing what they think are rights that they forget that the issue really doesn't even affect them. Whatever your politics make sure and vote in every election because if you don't then you are truly sending the message that you really don't care what happens to your country. Keeping a separation of church and state is necessary because Christians may not always be in the majority. So pray and pray often because the nation really needs it.

People can all agree about religion, race, and politics. By all means let's do this.