What role does faith play in the Republic?
The separation of church and state is a doctrine foreign to the United States Constitution. Despite the derisive reaction she received from the Delaware School of Law during the general election for the Delaware Senate seat in 2010, Christine O'Donnell was accurate to point out that the Founding charter of our government does not expressly forbid the practice of religion in the public square.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has argued that the Framers originally forbade the federal government from establishing its own religion, but that the states were free to instill any state religious devotion which they saw fit to promote.
Still, the text of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights clearly states that there will be no establishment of religion, nor prevention of the free exercise thereof.
Therefore, we should not be afraid or dismayed by the open appreciation and practice of religious fervor from political candidates, provided that their religious views do not clash with the basic tenets of a free, democratic society based on representative government.
As long as their religious views promote the freedom of the people, then no one should be dissuaded by attachment to religious feeling.
Having reviewed the basic elements of this matter, let us review the individual religious adherents' views in the Republican presidential caucus.
Newt Gingrich converted to Catholicism, a train of religious doctrine which impinges on man to do good, in spite of the redemptive Finished Work of Jesus Christ. Indeed, proper faith in the grace of God can assuage all the sin and shame that besets fallen man, yet can the nation tolerate an individual who flagrantly broke up with two of his wives while dating their replacement?
Senator Rick Santorum shared the painful detachment he exhibited toward his sickly child in the first few months of her life, so afraid was he that she would lose her. He also commented on the horrendous outcomes of the sexual revolution, whose values have led individuals to leave familial commitments, engage in illicit sexual relationships, and undermine the proper care and security for young people.
Herman spoke out against the "political correctness police", a mass of intellectuals and liberals who disarm anyone who promotes a vision of liberty bordered by truth and respect for the rights of others. Diversity of opinion matters, even when those views offend individuals who insist that everyone is equal, and all paths lead to the truth.
Ron Paul was the loudest dissenting voice in the Faith-based debate in Des Moines, Iowa. He championed the libertarian position that the government should get out of the marriage business, among other things. On a side note, he added that every conflict that the United States entered following World War II was unconstitutional. I find such an argument untenable, but I still support a candidate who is more interested in preventing wars abroad and fostering freedom here in the United States.
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