POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Yes, of course religion should be kept out of politics.
The problem is that from the religious point of view, some government actions are regarded as politics entering religion.
There is no easy solution to this conundrum.
The United States was formed as a secular state by a group of men whose leaders were mainly indifferent theists or genuine skeptics.
Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, and many others of the "Founding Fathers" were decidedly not Christians.
Yet to this day, we have millions of Americans claiming it is a "Christian nation."
The current president, admittedly a remarkably thick man, brought in a wave of backward measures favoring religion and even spending tax money on its interests.
The great irony is Jefferson, a skeptic, allied himself with protestant groups, such as Baptists, to fight for religious liberty. At that time, the established church received legally-enforced tithes from all citizens including those going to other churches.
Today, these same protestant churches bay the loudest about government either ignoring or abusing their religious rights.
But then, why we would we expect logic from the religious?
