On religion and politics

The original intent of separating Church from State (or vice versa) was to keep government out of religion. Religion, believed Founding Father Thomas Jefferson (and others), was a very personal matter, one which the government had no business getting involved in.

Now, however, it is often the State and politicians who need protection from the Church, or more accurately those who believe that where or how one prays to God (or which god or no god) should be the or a major deciding factor in choosing a President. And I find this both distressing and depressing.

Which brings me to today's article in The New York Times titled "Muslim Voters Detect a Snub from Obama." For MONTHS now the media has been regurgitating information from surveys that reveal that some 10 percent of Americans (I do not have the latest number, but that's the last one I heard) think Obama is a "secret Muslim" (he isn't). At the same time these same people (as well as many others) chastise Obama for staying at Trinity United Church of Christ (that's Christ people, in case you missed it, as in Jesus Christ) while it was led by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who, as we all know said some very inflammatory things (which spiritual leaders never do, right?).

Whether The Times's assertions are true or not (and Obama staffers say they are not), can anyone really blame Obama for not stumping at mosques or seeming too chummy with Muslims in the current anti-Muslim-post-9/11-Iraq-War world we live in?

We the people have created an impossible (intolerable?) situation for Barack Hussein Obama. Literally, he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, worship- or religion- or appearance-wise, by pick your religious group. It's enough to make a guy a Unitarian or a Buddhist, though I am sure either move would cause even more outcry.

But the bigger point is -- or should be: Why does anyone care? When did religious affiliation or how many times or where or how one prays, if one does at all, become a leading factor in determining who is "fit" to be President? Shouldn't we be picking a president based on, oh, things like capability, and/or experience, and/or intelligence, and/or grasp of the major issues facing this country and its people, and/or ability to unite and lead people?

Interestingly, on Monday, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released its second report on the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which, according to the press release (which contains the report's main findings and is a good, relatively quick read), finds that "Politics and religion in the United States are intertwined, and religion is highly relevant to understanding politics in the U.S." No shit.

This great country of ours is supposed to be a shining light in terms of religious freedom. The United States Information Agency even has a Web site called "Principles of Democracy," with an entire section on "Freedom of Religion." Read it -- and try not to weep.

ADDENDUM: George Carlin, who died this past Sunday, and will sorely be missed, had this to say about religion and governance (or politics).