A Religious Test-Are we working to the point where only Agnostics will be politically acceptable?

Washington Post ^ | 09/17/2010 | Damon Linker

[RacLuther]

Fifty years ago, in the midst of his presidential campaign against Richard Nixon, Sen. John F. Kennedy gave a speech to ease voters' concerns about his Catholic faith. Speaking in Houston, Kennedy emphasized that Article VI of the Constitution maintains that no "religious test" may keep a candidate from aspiring to political office. He went further, implying that his Catholicism should be off limits to public scrutiny. To treat a politician's religious beliefs as politically relevant was an affront to America's noblest civic traditions, he declared.

[RacLuther]

Progressivism generally requires that society always advances. Human history is filled with examples of society reaching back to good ideas in order to help society advance. If we allow our society to advance without proper reflection on what has worked in the past, we will advance ourselves to the point that only morally neutral, agnostic politicians will be acceptable candidates. Balance requires equal treatment. What happens when "your" religion becomes the one under attack. Candidates must be examined as a whole. When the news media works to hide the facts of one candidates past and magnifies aspects of another candidate, they are doing the public a great disservice.

[Julia H.]

Laws under a Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion are, by definition, religiously neutral. It shouldn’t matter what a politician’s religious views are, so long as the laws he or she implements or executes do not enforce any religion or lack thereof.

[ClearCase_guy]

My brother believes that Separation of Church and State is the most important part of the Constitution (I know, I know: I've told him. I've shown him. He still believes this).

The way my brother interprets this non-existent constitutional doctrine is as follows: People who believe in God, should not be allowed to go into politics. My brother always asserted that George W. Bush should not have been president, because Bush was a follower of Christ.

Similarly, the "proof" that Sarah Palin is an stark idiot is because she seems to be a serious Christian. Therefore, she deserves no respect at all.

[Julia H.]

By his logic, the Constitution itself should be illegitimate because it was written by Christians and Deists.

[frogjerk]

The fruits of Kennedy's speech are Pelosi, Biden, Kerry, and every other CINO who loves abortion in direct defiance to Church teaching. His speech produced the Obami thought of "Freedom of Worship" rather than "Freedom of Religion".

Kennedy thru his speech canonized Pontius Pilate as a patron saint of the CINOs.

[massgopguy]

Can your brother direct me to the words “Separation of Church and State” in the Constitution?

[Conservative4Ever]

I know he is your brother and all...but people like this..don’t ya just want to wave a magic wand and say ‘poof, be gone!’

[DarthVader]

Your brother believes in a false interpretation of the Constitution and I am sorry to say he is damned to hell if he does not repent.

[frogjerk]

No longer. Since the rise of the religious right in the late 1970s, traditionalist believers have actively injected faith into the political realm, pushing public figures to place their religious convictions at the core of their civic identities and political campaigns. From Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, U.S. presidents have made overt -- and largely innocuous -- gestures toward satisfying this expectation.

Absolutely wrong. It was Kennedy who by pandering for votes, created a political thought that God and faith were incompatible with governing. An extremely dangerous thought.

[WestwardHo]

We are already at the point where only agnostics are politically acceptable.
We dance around Truth with generic, “all roads lead to Rome” terms so we can discuss religeon without offending anyone.
If we applied the same technique to the laws of nature we'd have intellectual chaos. Choose a subject...gravity, whatever, there is only one set of laws governing it.
The same it true of the Law of God. There is only one Truth.
What we are seeing is not really an attack against believers, it is rebellion against God.
Our society hurtling into chaos is the consequence.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

There is already a religious test.

- Catholic and actually accepting Catholic teachings - trashing, harassment, anal exam, media scrutiny, intrusive hearings on TV.

- Catholic and not giving a danm - automatic approval

[married21]

Get on the agnosticism bandwagon! It’s what the “intelligent” people ride!

Time to take a stand for lack of commitment! Time to speak out clearly about indecision, and firmly about the lack of any real answer about things that matter! Time to not know for sure, while trying not to look stupid!

Agnosticism— not so much the pathway to the future, so much as a vantage point that isn’t quite high enough.

Contact your local agnostic today. Let’s dither together!

[Dead Corpse]

You are his Brother. Apply the necessary amount of corrective phrenology to straighten him out.

[5thGenTexan]

Challenge your brother - ask him if he believes these people are/were not qualified to govern:

• John F. Kennedy
• Nancy Pelosi
• Ted Kennedy
• Barrak Obama

All professed to believe in God. One acts like he believes in Allah. :-)

[Aroostook25]

We will vitally need “Separation of Church and State” to defend ourselves against Islam and Muslims.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Only the "majority" need be agnostics. Religious minorities will be exempted from any and all "enlightenment" tests in the name of "pluralism" and "diversity."

It's the same principal that says that the public square must be cleansed of all references to the majority religion, but stuffed to the gills with references to minority religions.

To the Left, minority religions, no matter how anti-modern and fundamentalist, contextually represent secularism. Meanwhile, the majority religion, no matter how enlightened, represents obscurantism and repression. It's the way the liberal mind works.

[trisham]

My sister in law is similar to your brother, and it grew to be very frustrating, particularly during holidays. Finally, she moved to Florida. :)

I wish I had some advice, but as you may conclude from the above paragraph, I have little to offer except my sympathy. :/

[wolfman23601]

In other words, you can get away with being Catholic by bloodline as long as you don’t practice.