Yes!
Religious faith is a choice. If you don't make that choice, you aren't there. God has given man the freedom to come to Him, to choose to live a good life, to embrace the Love of God, and ultimately, to seek to be one with Him--or not.
You can legislate all you want, but the choice is up to the individual.
One who will live a 'Godly' life will do so without laws to force them to, and one who will not, will not despite any laws, be they secular or sacred.
“Religious faith is a choice. If you don’t make that choice, you aren’t there.”
Auto - nomos - Self rule.
Christianity teaches that you must give yourself over to Christ. You must sacrifice your autonomy in order to become one with Him.
“God has given man the freedom to come to Him, to choose to live a good life, to embrace the Love of God, and ultimately, to seek to be one with Him—or not.”
Yes, but here’s the problem. Someone who has given their life up to Christ has denied their autonomy. Ergo, they are acting contrary to what is perceived, to be the highest good, their own self rule.
Anyone who believes that autonomy is the principle good, cannot be a Christian. This is what Santorum is arguing here - America has never upheld the principle that individual autonomy is the principle good.
“You can legislate all you want, but the choice is up to the individual.”
Again, there is no compulsion to respect religion in a culture which believes that autonomy is the primary goal. You can only respect religion - if and only if - there is understanding of a world beyond that of the self.
“One who will live a ‘Godly’ life will do so without laws to force them to, and one who will not, will not despite any laws, be they secular or sacred.”
This is not about forcing anyone to do anything, but this is about affirming the principle that there exists something beyond self.
That I’m even here arguing this principle, indicates to me just how far things have slid.