http://thenewgay.net/2008/06/obama-on-religion.html For Everyone Over the Rainbow Thu, 24 May 2012 04:53:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://thenewgay.net/2008/06/obama-on-religion.html#comment-3736 Anonymous Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:10:00 +0000 http://tngmichael.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/obama-on-religion/#comment-3736 Speaking on the importance of the separation of church and state is reminiscent of JFK, who had to contend with anti-Catholic bias when he ran in 1960. He assured voters that his faith would have no bearing on his conduct as president, which is a far cry from what many presidential candidates tend to articulate in today's political climate. Even Mitt Romney, when he gave his speech on how being a Mormon would influence his potential presidency, made an argument that having faith in God is what should matter to voters, but that his specific Mormon faith would not influence his policy positions. I must say that I prefer the emphasis on separation of church and state to an emphasis on the importance of presidents at least having some kind of faith. After all, most of the founding fathers were agnostic. Speaking on the importance of the separation of church and state is reminiscent of JFK, who had to contend with anti-Catholic bias when he ran in 1960. He assured voters that his faith would have no bearing on his conduct as president, which is a far cry from what many presidential candidates tend to articulate in today’s political climate. Even Mitt Romney, when he gave his speech on how being a Mormon would influence his potential presidency, made an argument that having faith in God is what should matter to voters, but that his specific Mormon faith would not influence his policy positions. I must say that I prefer the emphasis on separation of church and state to an emphasis on the importance of presidents at least having some kind of faith. After all, most of the founding fathers were agnostic.

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