Separation of Church & State Now in Cross-hairs of Supreme Court This is concerning since the church supported slavery
sboyd.substack.com
I was in a very provocative conversation this evening about whether the US is headed for another Civil War. I think the majority opinion was yes, and it has begun. The evidence offered was in reference to the extremes in the country: wealth and health inequality, social injustice. The political parties are not working together, which appears to me due to Republicans entrenched in believing the last election was stolen, for which there is no evidence. And they have stated, as they did with President Obama, that they would do everything they could to undermine everything his administration tried to do.
So, are they out of touch with reality or are they just convinced that if they keep telling the lie long enough, and if they get enough people elected to the right positions, they can claim any election they don’t win was rigged? Twice now an election has been contested and the Supreme Court awarded the win to the Republican. And Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but the Electoral College gave the win to Trump. President Biden clearly won both the popular vote and the Electoral college vote. And the guy Trump appointed and gave orders to be sure the election was fair did so and insisted it was as fair an election as we’ve ever had. But many Republicans still say they don’t believe it. And the divisiveness is rife. They supported or were involved in the January 6 insurrection and now they are trying to undermine the investigation of it, although a number of insurrectionists are already convicted. So, politically we are at odds and it’s a very serious divide.
Our group basically suggested President Biden give up trying to achieve bipartisanship. Gone are the days when legislators on both sides of the aisle ate together and compromised because they respected each other and recognized they are all trying to do the best they can for the country. they suggested Biden just go with the mandate inherent in winning the election and do what they can with their majorities in Congress.
Asked about what the weapons of war will be, social media was implicated: Twitter, Instagram, Parler. So, I wonder if both sides can play that game? So far, Democrats play by the rules and accept we are a nation of laws. And no one is above the law.
Then the conversation turned to the role of religion in politics. I had already said I believe a number of white supremacists want a race war because of what I’ve read on Spotify. Several pointed out that Christian churches had condoned and supported slavery. When I first heard that years ago, I had to look it up, and clearly it is so, from Catholic Popes to many Protestant denominations. This was a surprise to me as the Jesus I know certainly would not have approved, I’m certain. The Quakers from the beginning of slavery objected and remained staunch abolitionists, doing what they could to help those trying to escape.
Now churches have become increasingly political. We had discussed that before. Ministers are telling parishioners whom to vote for and whom to oppose although our Constitution of the United States is clear about the separation of church and state. I had seen a documentary where reporters attended some evangelical churches where some parishioners carried guns, including military weapons, openly and were radical about their political stances and support of former president Trump. There seemed to be agreement among everyone in our discussion group that ministers supporting politicians was not a good thing.
At some point I was asked what the church needed to say to parishioners. I suggested they needed to do a reality check. Remind them what Jesus actually said and how that applies to the inequities in the world, what Jesus’ message means for job equity and pay equity.
At some point someone said that Republicans were suggesting people would have to be Christian to hold office in the United States. I was stunned; doesn’t the constitution forbid that?!
So, as soon as I could, I hit the search engines. Are there Republicans who believe one has to be a Christian to hold office in the USA? In a word, yes. What comes to my mind is the Inquisition! I do not want America to go there!
According to a PEW Research Center survey (2022) collectively 25% of us said “Government policies should support religious values and beliefs;” whereas 73% said “Religion should be kept separate from government policies.” Democrats skewed more with 16% saying yes, and 84% saying no. Among Republicans 38% said “Government policies should support religious values and beliefs;” whereas only 61% said “Religion should be kept separate from government policies.”
People under 50 were even more in favor of separation of church and state with 81% of those 18-29 and 76% of those 30-49 advocating government policies not support religious values and beliefs. Older individuals less so with 68% of those 50-64 and 70% of those over 65 in favor of separation.
In terms of religion white evangelicals are evenly split on the question of whether religion should be kept separate from government policies; 49% said yes and 49% said no. White non-evangelicals mirrored all of us: 25% and 73%; Catholics were close with 25% and 74%. Of the religiously unaffiliated, 9% said yes and 91% said no. Collectively Protestants voted 39 and 59; Black Protestants 39 and 60, which are almost the same as Republicans.
Bottom line: white evangelicals are the outliers with less than half wanting government policies not to be congruent with religious policy. So, do you remember what the Holy Bible says about church and state? I’m afraid I can’t quote exactly, so let’s look it up and talk about it.
Separation of Church & State Now in Cross-hairs of Supreme Court This is concerning since the church supported slavery
Separation of Church & State Now in Cross-hairs of Supreme Court This is concerning since the church supported slavery
Separation of Church & State Now in Cross-hairs of Supreme Court This is concerning since the church supported slavery
I was in a very provocative conversation this evening about whether the US is headed for another Civil War. I think the majority opinion was yes, and it has begun. The evidence offered was in reference to the extremes in the country: wealth and health inequality, social injustice. The political parties are not working together, which appears to me due to Republicans entrenched in believing the last election was stolen, for which there is no evidence. And they have stated, as they did with President Obama, that they would do everything they could to undermine everything his administration tried to do.
So, are they out of touch with reality or are they just convinced that if they keep telling the lie long enough, and if they get enough people elected to the right positions, they can claim any election they don’t win was rigged? Twice now an election has been contested and the Supreme Court awarded the win to the Republican. And Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but the Electoral College gave the win to Trump. President Biden clearly won both the popular vote and the Electoral college vote. And the guy Trump appointed and gave orders to be sure the election was fair did so and insisted it was as fair an election as we’ve ever had. But many Republicans still say they don’t believe it. And the divisiveness is rife. They supported or were involved in the January 6 insurrection and now they are trying to undermine the investigation of it, although a number of insurrectionists are already convicted. So, politically we are at odds and it’s a very serious divide.
Our group basically suggested President Biden give up trying to achieve bipartisanship. Gone are the days when legislators on both sides of the aisle ate together and compromised because they respected each other and recognized they are all trying to do the best they can for the country. they suggested Biden just go with the mandate inherent in winning the election and do what they can with their majorities in Congress.
Asked about what the weapons of war will be, social media was implicated: Twitter, Instagram, Parler. So, I wonder if both sides can play that game? So far, Democrats play by the rules and accept we are a nation of laws. And no one is above the law.
Then the conversation turned to the role of religion in politics. I had already said I believe a number of white supremacists want a race war because of what I’ve read on Spotify. Several pointed out that Christian churches had condoned and supported slavery. When I first heard that years ago, I had to look it up, and clearly it is so, from Catholic Popes to many Protestant denominations. This was a surprise to me as the Jesus I know certainly would not have approved, I’m certain. The Quakers from the beginning of slavery objected and remained staunch abolitionists, doing what they could to help those trying to escape.
Now churches have become increasingly political. We had discussed that before. Ministers are telling parishioners whom to vote for and whom to oppose although our Constitution of the United States is clear about the separation of church and state. I had seen a documentary where reporters attended some evangelical churches where some parishioners carried guns, including military weapons, openly and were radical about their political stances and support of former president Trump. There seemed to be agreement among everyone in our discussion group that ministers supporting politicians was not a good thing.
At some point I was asked what the church needed to say to parishioners. I suggested they needed to do a reality check. Remind them what Jesus actually said and how that applies to the inequities in the world, what Jesus’ message means for job equity and pay equity.
At some point someone said that Republicans were suggesting people would have to be Christian to hold office in the United States. I was stunned; doesn’t the constitution forbid that?!
So, as soon as I could, I hit the search engines. Are there Republicans who believe one has to be a Christian to hold office in the USA? In a word, yes. What comes to my mind is the Inquisition! I do not want America to go there!
According to a PEW Research Center survey (2022) collectively 25% of us said “Government policies should support religious values and beliefs;” whereas 73% said “Religion should be kept separate from government policies.” Democrats skewed more with 16% saying yes, and 84% saying no. Among Republicans 38% said “Government policies should support religious values and beliefs;” whereas only 61% said “Religion should be kept separate from government policies.”
People under 50 were even more in favor of separation of church and state with 81% of those 18-29 and 76% of those 30-49 advocating government policies not support religious values and beliefs. Older individuals less so with 68% of those 50-64 and 70% of those over 65 in favor of separation.
In terms of religion white evangelicals are evenly split on the question of whether religion should be kept separate from government policies; 49% said yes and 49% said no. White non-evangelicals mirrored all of us: 25% and 73%; Catholics were close with 25% and 74%. Of the religiously unaffiliated, 9% said yes and 91% said no. Collectively Protestants voted 39 and 59; Black Protestants 39 and 60, which are almost the same as Republicans.
Bottom line: white evangelicals are the outliers with less than half wanting government policies not to be congruent with religious policy. So, do you remember what the Holy Bible says about church and state? I’m afraid I can’t quote exactly, so let’s look it up and talk about it.
Reference
Leppert, R. and Fahmy, D., “10 Facts about Religion and Government in the US,” Pew Research Center, Downloaded from the internet 8/17/2022 at 11:49 pm at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/07/05/10-facts-about-religion-and-government-in-the-united-states/