New Poll Shows Public Thinks Churches Should Stay Out of Politics

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Absolutely

Christian institutions shloud have a say in the matters of governeent because our government is guaranteed by our constitution to be representational. There is a controversy in England about busses carrying advertising that questions whether God exists, paid for by atheists. In my view, atheism as well as secularism and humanism are religions because they are belief systems. This means the religion that is not called a religion is saying a religion that is called a religion must step aside, against the tenets of democracy of government "of, by and for the people".

An atheist, (or secularist or humanist) to be honest (and honesty, being a central call of God in Christian religion shouldn't be a necessity for non-Christians), recognizes that he or she does not know if God exists. Many churches, Christian included, hold the important consideration that it is one's own choice to believe God is Who people witness of Him as being or He is not. This is called a matter of personal faith and should be respected. These paople are a part of the population our government represents, so their involvement in free discourse should not be restricted. Since atheists have said that God does not exist, the statement belies itself in that there is no way for an atheist to know if God exists - especially, according to the Bible, when accepting His existence is based in the faith of the will to believe. Thus, the term Agnostic (the understanding that one is not sure if God exists) is more honestly appropriate for an Atheist, knowing that the words of terminology can be a belief system also because the facts of living are not generated in the existence of particular symbols of words. When anyone is incensed about what another says, as on the busses is England, the angry response is part of the purpose of the advert. But, for the parties who support and paid the message that "there probably is not a God" to be upset because others are upset, saying they have no right to express their disgust and disdain for the message on the bus, are hypocritically undermining the advert itself by calling for oppositional responses to be silent.

What are we teaching?

What are we teaching in our schools today? I'm sorry, what aren't we teaching in our schools today?

Just because a teacher says something religious does not mean that he/she is promoting that particular belief system. What do history teachers do when they get to the Crusades? The First Thanksgiving? The Reformation? These are important historical periods that can not be ignored because they are all religious. As for seperation of church and state, G. Washington and T. Jefferson were both quoting a Bapist leader who did not want the government running the church like England's king was doing, neither did this religious leader want the church to become corrupt by controlling the government like the Catholic Church was doing before the Reformation and the Puritans were doing in Massachusetts.

Please note that the phrase "seperation of church and state" is not found in the Constitution, and if our schools would only talk about the historical importance of religious leaders like Christians, debates like this wouldn't occur.

Astonishing

Has everyone lost their minds (besides a few illuminating comments)? Does anyone have any concept of the original idea of separation of church and state? What does it mean to say that the church should stay our of politics? Surely everyone is not saying that a group of citizens with shared beliefs on important issues should absent themselves from civic debate because they a religious institution?

This product, the deteriorated life of the mind of the average citizen, comes from a society that does not read, does not write, does not think. Good thinking--and this does not necessitate agreement on issues--is a learned activity. It can be done correctly, or incorrectly. The thinking represented by this article's poll and most of the comments that follow are an embarrassment to our polity.

That true , God never send order to tell you Invoved Political

That why i am alway say future i help all my Kids all over the World Business Focus

Please no Political and respect every one , no matter where you are , you are my Brother yuu are my sister , you are my Kids, Please dont ever bring political add Religion that not right , If you favor your own just focus , no one cant say anything..

you are live white House know more then I am , use wrong body Langure then make all my Family oversea no respect then make all US Military get hurt.. Please stop funny you thinking

you smart .. Please ... I are not smart...

If you are smart you dont need ball out and help your partner and let CEO living that not smart

you are never accepted wrong , you are never take Idea from public Net Work, you are thinking country safety , Thanks you God have 1 Team Work IT Law Enforcment Focus..

you are stay inside never go out that never see what going on Market dont use tool for Market use Politiacl panic,,

Example; Mr; Mccain just use wrong tool that done.

I still say Mr: Obama please comedown President we dont need 7 way safety market do you ask your Team ready tool and key to fix what do you knew from Asian Pacific now :) God

I ready say you are thinking homeles dont know open Focus see Asian Pacific what new

I don't understand why religeous organizations are exempt from taxation. If the constitution outlaws the gov't establishing (or, I believe, supporting) religion, why do they enjoy special tax treatment? Make them pay taxes as any other corporation, and they can say what they want and hire lobbyists to buy influence in the true American political fashion. Taxing religious orgs. would be a large boon to the Federal and state coffers. There are churches in the Florida panhandle that can afford to pay church leaders over $250,000.00 a year, and they aren't what you would recognize as "mege churches". There's where the real money is. Let them pay their fair share to enjoy the liberties this country has given them.

Church and politics

If the churches, which are just as much a part of our society as any other entity, are to stay out of politics, then the secular institutions can stay out of it as well. Does that make sense? No, but neither does it make sense to tell the churches to stay out of it. Some need to study a bit more of what was meant by separation of church and state.

Social agreement

Since churches are, most of them, subject to certain regulating tax codes as non-profit institutions with for-profit exceptions based on business type sales, the church orgamizations have a say about government decisions.

A church, like government, represents a collective of people who are concerned with more than individual welfare because each is a community. In the United States all church members are members of "We The People" but not all members of "We The People" are members of any of the churches (except that one definition of 'church' is: Any sytem of belief that compensates for the fear of the unknown).

It is impossible to give a voice to one's desires for our government's decisions without relaying the importance of belief about faithfulness to a certain cause or another. In a very real way, that is what government by representation is, To vote for the people who represent one's desired way(s) of life in an effort to be a participating member of the mess we call America.

Ah, the wisdom.

Is it not interesting that the secularists are the ones who feel so threatnened that anyone other than them should have the Rights of Freedom of Speech/Expression. And it is they that speak so expertly about religion, as if they even had a clue. Does that right of speech/expression end at the door of the church, synagog, temple, or mosque? When it comes to moral issues ie. abortion, same sex marriage,homosexuality,euthenasia,etc. that have been purposely politicized, then those who find conflicts with their religious beliefs and these politicized "moral issues" have every right to voice their objections in the political arena. It was the "State" that has injected itself into the "Church", not the other way round. And the old tripe that this nation was not foundeed on Judeo/Christian "principles" is pure revisionist bunk. And that is a good thing. Were it not for the morality that rises from the Code of Hamurabi,Ten Commandments, etc. we would still be subject to the laws of evolution where only the strong dominate and survive. I would caution against abolishing the limitations and restrictions placed upon human behavior and interaction, as brought to and espoused by religious faiths in all their various forms. That would be a perilous venture at best.

As seasons go...

The framers of our constitution understood the need for faith in one's personal life. Interestingly, many of them were agnostic, even if they were baptized Christians. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others saw the effects religion had on the countries of Europe. Many of them were Deists, moreso than practicing Christians. They laughed at the devout as uninformed cretins.

The first immigrants were Puritans who were persecuted by the Anglicans for their "unusual" ways. As a result they became the first foreigners to help pave the way for the original Thirteen Colonies. The Founding Fathers in a gesture of gratitude towards the pilgrims, made sure that religious freedom would be afforded for future American citizens. They wanted to ensure that each American citizen would be more protected than their counterparts in Europe.

YET, they also made it a point to separate the influences of church and state. They had seen the effects of Theocratic thinking in Europe. In the formal Constituion there is not one mention of the word "God". They understood that when too much power is placed in anyone's hands there would be no one to check them. Hence, the three branches of government, some semblance of state's rights and the separation of faith and government.

The claims that our country is founded upon Judaeo-Christian principles, are misleading. Most of the founders had a general disdain for any organized religion. They saw religious thinking as counter to enlightened thought and the power of the human collective. Once one empowered themselves with science, philosophy, mathematics and so on, the need to constantly led, in matters of faith or otherwise, was greatly diminished. It's ironic that people feel you need to be forced by the threat of hell and damnation to do what is right. The founders had informed opinion so the emotionally and esoterically driven motives of the Old World seemed inane to them.

It's disheartening to know that half of the Americans think that religion should guide or influence political decisions. If you want to live in a country like that you need to move to a Muslim run nation or to Israel. The right way is counter to this.

There is a place for religion. It is in your place of worship, in your head, in your home and in your heart. Nowhere else. Once you get the "real" twisted with the imagined or with pure "hope" all you have is nothing. You cannot build this real, modern world upon a foundation of quicksand. That's what countries who are Theocratic will contnue to experience. Religion teaches doctrine, not logic and science. We are too advanced for "doctrine without fact" based government.

Look at what all our fairy tale emotionality has done to the country and our world. Fix your thinking or just shut your traps and let those who understand true righteousness and empiricism run the show. No more blind, mid-level I.Q. dolts leading the blind. Get it straight before you all ruin it for everyone.