Is there room for religion in politics?

Most of us have heard the old adage of ‘never talk about religion or politics with friends or strangers’.  The idea used to be that it simply wasn’t the ‘polite’ thing to do.  You had to respect another person’s politics and as to their religious views and preferences; that was considered absolutely private and off base.

Politeness and downright courtesy abandoned particularly by (but not limited to) the liberal left in this country (both politically and religiously) for some time now, it is time to restudy this issue.

There is increasing meaningless ‘babble’ among the Christian community (and there is much ‘gobblely gook’ out there) but the truth is, there is less babble there, than in politics. The politically liberal left as well as some of the extreme radical right wants to totally destroy religion. They want all religion gone.  They want no mention of God, the Bible, prayer in school or at public events and the idea that this is an exclusively Christian nation of course ended with the current President’s remarks that we are not. We might add, what gave him the right?

Rio Grande Valley Republicans, however, must not have gotten the message. At a recent event this writer was invited too, the mention of God, religious freedom and public prayer were all in order. The woman who led the invocation and prayer prayed ‘…in Jesus name Amen’ and almost the entire hall echoed her with an overwhelming, responsive, AMEN. This former Baptist pastor felt like he was at a prayer meeting and there is nothing wrong with that. Our nation needs prayer and allot of it.

It was obvious that this group of citizens were from every walk of life and even religious backgrounds.  But one thing was definitely clear, the group was united.  Every speaker from the Lt. Governor of Texas to local leaders is concerned about the loss of liberty. The same conclusion seemed to prevail: ‘change must come’ and if it is to come, it is up to us and the help of God.

As we come ever closer to the 2012 election, it is important to remember that it was President Thomas Jefferson who donned the idea of ‘separation of church and state’ and not the constitution. The 1st Amendment to our constitution simply says that, ’Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;’.  The last portion is the important part. Congress cannot prohibit any of us from freely exercising our religious beliefs.

Those who desire freedom “from” religion rather than the freedom “of” religion would do well to re-read the United States Constitution.

Yes, there is room for religion in politics; especially when the politics seek to eliminate religion.

Let’s pray that all good citizens will consider this serious 1st Amendment right next time, BEFORE we pull the lever in the voting booth.