Let’s hope the next president isn’t a pastafarian

Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement. The cause of civil liberty and civil government gains as little as that of religion by this confusion of duties. -Edmund Burke

I have been called, on occasion, a heathen - one without religion. (I have also been called rude, crude and disrespectful, but that is another issue.) And, perhaps I am, I am not a member of any church, do not attend religious services, do not feel an affinity for any religion, be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Buddhism. Thus I feel no compunction to accept the values or follow the guidelines of any religion. I live in a country where membership in any church is not required, I do not have to adhere to the ideology of our elected officials.
Our Founding Fathers based much of the concepts of our free democracy on Christian philosophies. Which was fine, in 1776. So was owning a fellow human being and putting law breakers in stocks. Not so much now.
Not that there is anything inherently wrong with Christian values, do unto others, love your fellow man, thou shalt not kill.
But some of those values and morality are based on one’s religion, what your particular church thinks. That is, and should be, a very personal choice. Some religions prohibit eating meat, some birth control, some feel women should not wear pants. That is everyone’s right, to follow the rules of whatever religion you choose.
Government, however, is a different matter. When the government makes a rule, it is not optional. It is the law. It doesn’t matter if you agree with it, if you find it morally or ethically at odds with your personal belief system.
So those in power should not base their decisions on their religion, laws and government policies should be based on what is fair for everyone, their religion should have no bearing on the way our government is run, which rules every citizen in the country is required to follow.
Religion is a great thing, it gives people a sense of purpose and community, a framework around which they build their lives. Each one, it seems to this heathen, has good and bad points, some of which I agree with, others I emphatically do not agree with. Which is fine, I am not required to agree with them.
Which is why I am  having a hard time with potential presidential candidates standing in a pulpit instead of on a soap box.
Rick Perry, shortly before he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination, led a prayer service at what is called a mega-church. Michelle Bachman’s faith has also taken center stage. Why? Why would their religion be an issue? If they are Christian, Jew or atheist, why would it have a bearing on their policies or ideas for government in a country that prides itself on the separation of church and state?
Unless of course, they want to make the rules of their religion the rules for the country.
This may seem far-fetched, but there are countries where citizens thought the same thing, yet religious leaders were elected as governmental leaders, and the country is forced to live within the tenets of religion, not government. Not in the Dark Ages, but now, in 2011.
The American people would do well to be concerned when someone starts a political campaign by declaring their religious views. Unless they are the same views as everyone in the country, it seems it could be counter-productive.
Unless, of course, those views are held by the real influencer of elections: big money. If the special interest groups, lobbyists and others the Supreme Court decided are individuals (and so can pump unlimited amounts of money into the political system) happen to go to the same church, well, then Rick Perry may be in like Flynn.
The prayer rally he held in Houston was financed by the American Family Association, a Tupelo, Miss.-based group that opposes abortion and gay rights. If Perry lives up to the old adage of “dance with them that brought ya,” then the American Family Association’s view on abortion may be forced upon those of us who do not share those views. Because this group’s purpose is to make their beliefs the law.
I am a citizen of the United States. As such, it is my right to live according to my own rules, or lack thereof. As a representative of the people, I want my leaders to respect that.
I’ll keep my lack of religion out of your government, you keep your religion out of mine.