“Our country fairly seethes with talk about political religion and politics, much of it designed to confuse rather than clarify, to inflame rather than inform.”
– Bill Moyers, former White House Press Secretary and journalist
Although the U.S. Constitution forbids religious tests, U.S. politicians are routinely asked about religion and expected to make their own faith visible. With a majority of Americans reporting that religion plays a "very important" role in their lives and with research showing that candidates who are perceived to be religious are considered more trustworthy, the political nature of religion is inescapable.
Although the separation of church and state is grounded firmly in the Constitution of the United States, this does not mean that there is no religious dimension in the political society of the United States. Americans have wrestled from the very beginnings of the country with the best ways to protect the church and state from encroaching on each other.
“Remarkably, some of these conservative Christians, when met by opposing views, claim their religious freedom is under attack. By now this is a familiar tactic: to treat fundamental disagreements as apocalyptic threats to religious liberty itself.”
– Bill Moyers
No one is taking away freedom of religion as they advocate separation. And, while many fear their religious liberty is under attack and they seek redress by political means, their poor choice of political party activism may actually be feeding a system that cares little about them. Nigel Barber, noted evolutionary psychologist and writer, posits …
“Many poor people in America undermine their economic interests by voting for Republican politicians who are interested in further concentrating wealth in the hands of the affluent. They do so, in part, because the Republicans appeal to their religious propensity.
“That religious propensity is strengthened by increasing insecurity in the lives of the poor because difficult living conditions are associated with increased religiosity. So the worse their living conditions become, the more likely they are to follow a self-defeating voting pattern. That seems like another great reason for really separating church and state.”
(Nigel Barber. “Why Religion Rules American Politics.”
Huffington Post. July 20, 2012.)
Of course, politicians are free to discuss their religious beliefs on their approach to a given issue, yet they must also respect that not all Americans share their faith, and that even Americans who share their faith might well disagree with their political position on any given issue. For example, not all liberals or Democrats support unlimited abortions or oppose all aspects of the Right to Life movement as many conservatives and Republicans promote.
Mark Hall, a professor at George Fox University, a Christian school, stated at a Heritage Foundation event …
“We need to be very careful judging whether or not someone is a sincere Christian based on their vote on issues like health care and tax cuts. In other words, I think good, sincere followers of Christ could disagree on those policies.”
(Bill Moyers. “12 Rules for Mixing Religion and Politics.”
People For the American Way.” August 2012.)
The disagreement on Christian tenets of both faith and politics are well documented. And still there are disturbing numbers of those who claim to speak for God and portray their political opponents as not only wrong, but evil incarnate. When religion is used as a “political club” or when it causes political figures to treat their own beliefs as monolithic, they betray the separation of church and state. Neither political nor religious leaders should claim to speak for an entire religious community on public policy issues.
De facto religious tests for public office – measures aimed at prohibiting Muslims, Hindus, atheists, and others sects from engaging in the processes of a democratic government – are intrusions that threaten the basic freedoms of all Americans. Instead of using religion to segregate and divide, a government dedicated to equality must employ any entanglement of religion and politics for the good of all people as it did in the civil rights movement of the '60s. In this manner of respecting the utility of polytheism, there is no attempt at establishing one faith over another. There is only positive change.
At the present time, Pew Research found (April 2019) that fifty-five percent of U.S. adults say that churches and other religious organizations do more good than harm and a similar proportion believes that religion strengthens morality in society.
Furthermore, most Republicans say religion either has about the right amount of influence (44%) or not enough influence (38%) in the political sphere, while a slim majority of Democrats say that religion has too much influence in politics (54%). And although most Republicans and Democrats (including those who lean toward each party) agree that religion is losing influence in American life, Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to view this as a regrettable development (63% vs. 27%).
There are about as many Democrats who say religion’s decline is a good thing (25%) as there are who say it is a bad thing (27%), with 22% of Democrats saying religion’s declining influence doesn’t make much difference either way
(“Americans Have Positive Views About Religion’s Role in Society, but Want It Out of Politics.” Pew Research Center. November 15, 2019.)
Then, there is the rise of the “Nones.” Twenty-three percent of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated (which includes “nothing particular,” agnostic, and atheist beliefs), according to the Public Religion Research Institute. It’s been a constant, steady increase for 20 years now. People claiming evangelicalism, by contrast, now represent 22.5 percent of Americans, a slight dip from 23.9 percent in 2016.
David Campbell, chair of the political science department at the University of Notre Dame, says …
"The rise of religious 'nones' is … one of the most significant social trends of the last 25 years.”
The close relationship between the Republican Party and religion likely helps explain this trend, Campbell and others said. Greg Smith, Pew Research Center's associate director of research, explains …
"I don't know how one could prove or how one could quantify exactly how much the growth of the 'nones' is attributable to (the entanglement of religion with conservative politics.) But it's consistent in the sense that religious 'nones' are by and large one of the most consistently liberal and Democratic religious groups in the U.S. population."
The so-called “nones” are expected to grow to roughly a quarter of the population in 2050. It can be expected the group doesn't want to be associated with a party – or politicians – with whom they may not agree. Professor of Religion at Boston University Stephen Prothero recounts …
“I think the vitality of American religion has really been hurt by the recent push toward more and more religion in the political space. And there are some evangelicals saying, ‘You know, we made a mistake. We need to get out of this political game, because our brand is being hurt.’”
(Julie Butters. “Why America Can't Separate Religion and Politics.”
Boston University Arts and Sciences.)
Exactly what will the future bring? Perhaps statistics of the present show a trend concerning the relationship of religion to politics. Pew found that sixty-three percent of U.S. adults believe churches and other houses of worship should "keep out" of political matters. When asked if religious institutions should endorse political candidates, 76 percent say no. And a plurality of adults – at 37 percent – believe that religious groups already have "too much" political influence.
Asst. Prof. of Political Science Ryan P. Burge of Eastern Illinois University, sums up the change …
"The biggest story is that 'no religion' is coming from the mainline. Mainliners are jumping ship."
Republicans, Democrats – both parties will feel surely experience these “mainline” effects. It remains to be seen how the institutions of religion and politics will weather the changes and adjust accordingly. We may need religion as a moral guide; however, we should remember the observation of horror author Stephen King, who once said …
"As a species we're fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?”
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