Religion and Politics
Issues like evolution versus intelligent design and hot button topics like abortion and gay marriage are often the fuel for heated debates over religion and politics. How much influence should religious belief have on the way our country is run? Some say a lot; some say a little, some say none at all. The debate is usually pitted between the two extremes of conservatism and liberalism.
The U.S. generally promotes freedom for its citizens, but things get complicated when the interests of different people collide. What if people violate each other’s rights with their own? One person’s happiness could result in another person’s pain; one person’s religious belief could infringe on the rights of another. The result is a bunch of dilemmas and one big headache. There are just too many perspectives and no way to accommodate all of them.
Often this is an issue with religion and politics. Religion itself is political because it has such an impact on political issues. What if the very existence of a right is perceived as a violation? Religious conservatives would be offended by there being the option of aborting a child or marrying a same-sex spouse. Conversely, evolutionists would be offended by the introduction of intelligence design into the science classroom. It’s not enough to tell people that they don’t have to participate in these things. Separation of church and state is complicated with even with freedom of religion—some people don’t just want the right to practice their religion; they want the government to enforce it. Conversely, other people don’t want religion to have any influence whatsoever on public policy.
Whether religion and politics end up mixing or not, in the end it’s impossible for the separation of church and state to truly co-exist with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and this is why religion and politics will continue to intersect and clash. It’s uncertain which direction the conflict is heading in because it seems unlikely that religion and politics will extricate themselves from each other any time soon. We also can’t see that far into the future. Who knows how things will be a century from now? It really depends on what our citizens choose, and there have been surprising election results before. But one thing is for sure—when conservatives and liberals come into contact with each other, religion and politics are two things that should never be mentioned.