The Relevance of Faith in Politics
Under the constitution, there should be a separation of church and state. People should have a right to choose their religion. Also, in a democracy, people including religious leaders, have the right to voice their opinion and this is where the issue starts. Today, it is still possible to see how religious leaders lobby for what they believe is right, and in the process the relevance of faith can be seen. Lobbying groups are present in the government, but the effects of religion on politics can not be limited there.
More extreme examples are the wars and conflicts that are brought about by differences in faith; and some people are afraid that election rivalry between religions would result in conflicts not unlike those in Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants. It is important that religious aspects should be considered in politics. Senator Barack Hussein Obama He is a known advocator of religious faith particularly with the Christian Faith. He thinks that religious faith would not really destroy politics if they would be subsumed in one stratum. According to him, one’s faith would not really defeat the purpose of rational governance.
Instead, he argued that religious faith would instead shape the minds of the people that would eventually help them in deciding on and participating in political matters. It is to be note here that Obama is a presidential candidate sponsored by the Democratic Party. And though he is currently receiving criticisms about his being so in tuned with his religious inclination, he remains firm with his view that his faith with guide him in governing the people if ever he would be elected. In fact, in his website (in his US presidential campaign) you would find endorsements on him made by religious leaders who have a clout of influence.
Conclusion Religious leaders like Obama or everyone else have the right to express their opinions. Their actions are based on the morals of their respective churches or their personal beliefs and faiths. The need to please these people or to support what they are lobbying for seems important for politicians because of the vote that they command and the effects of religion. Hopefully, when these leaders lobby for something or issues with moral implications rise, government leaders would study the merits of the issue and decide using those merits, not just because of the wants of religious leaders.
References: Beck, Roy. 7 Sept. 2007. National Religious Lobbying. http://www. thesocialcontract. com/ artman2/publish/tsc0503/article_430. shtml. The Social Contract Press. Spring 1995. Boston, Rob. 7 Sept 2007. Inquisition 2008. http://www. au. org/site/News2? abbr=cs _&page= NewsArticle&id=9356. Americans United. September 2007. Reichley, James. 7 Sept 2007. Faith in Politics. http://muse. jhu. edu/login? uri=/journals/journal _of_policy_history/v013/13. 1reichley. html. Project MUSE.
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