Should religion and politics mix?

My answer is quite simple- why not?

The problem of church and state is when you have totalitarian rule. That could be a fascist dictator or the Pope. When power is placed in the hands of one group generally it leads to problems.

Our ideas about separation of church and state come from the United States. Their constitution says, "... I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

The phrase "separation of church and state" itself does not appear in the United States Constitution. The aim was freedom for individuals in how they worship.

The Constitution of Australia prevents the Commonwealth from establishing any religion or requiring a religious test for any office:—

 Ch 5 § 116 The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

Our democracy is a representative model. We entrust people to make wise decisions on our behalf. That’s it. If we don’t think that they can make wise decisions then we shouldn’t vote for them.

So there are two ways that a religious group can participate in our democracy:

1) Set up a political party (Christian Democratic Party)

2) Lobby (explain the concerns to your local representative)

To me this is straight-forward. So why is everyone getting worked up about this?

Secularism

Originally secularism meant "a form of opinion which concerns itself only with questions, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life" (George Jacob Holyoake, English Secularism, 60). This allowed religion to function in society, but not be imposed upon people.

A secular society looked like this:

 1. Deep respect for individuals and the small groups of which they are a part.
 2. Equality of all people.
 3. Each person should be helped to realize their particular excellence.

This provides a place for religion in a secular society.

But that’s changed. Now secularists call for the removal of religion from public life.

Secular. org.au states they stand for

Teaching secular values in education
 Phasing out of government funding for religious schools
 Removing religious references from statutory oaths and pledges
 Abolishing parliamentary prayers
 Ending state support for religious institutions and personnel
 Removal of tax advantages for religious institutions

They stand against:

 Religious indoctrination of minors
 The wearing of religious attire in schools
 Government support or endorsement of any religion

This is not levelling the playing field. It’s a grab for power.

Ethics

We find two groups coming to the fore on ethical issues: libertarians and conservatives. Libertarians say individuals should decide  what is right and what is wrong. Conservatives want governments to enforce ethics by law.

Both groups are fighting a war.

The reason is because there is no longer a middle ground.

In the 19^th century the model looked like this:

There are three poles to making ethical decisions

Law                                         Truth                                      Freedom

Now the law was meant to provide a framework for community living, not decide ethics. Individuals were to pursue happiness within the context of community and society.

So how did they solve ethical issues?

Truth. They believed that there are absolutes which frame our character.

Rather than being left to our own devices or having a government produce legislation, individuals did what was right based on virtue.

Sadly, we’ve lost our moral compass. We’ve thrown out truth.

So we fight. Secularists say religious people don’t belong in the public square. Religious groups argue that they are acting for the good of society.

The solution must be found in dialogue. So religion must mix with politics.