Persuasive Speech: Should the Christian Religion be Separated From the World of Politics?

Should the Christian Religion be separated from the world of politics? This question is increasingly becoming more and more relevant to the everyday workings of Americans. The media is running specials on it (Tom Brokaw’s In God They Trust that aired last Friday night). Politicians have addressed it in the recent Supreme Court nominations (should religion be the deciding factor as Pres. Bush urged with the deceased nomination of Harriet Miers). The 2004 elections showed an increase in the religious movements in politics for both sides, and Americans have increasingly become aware of a strong “Religious Right” in the nations politics. So the question is posed: Should the Christian Religion be separated from the world of politics? No. There should be not separation between Christian religion and politics because the Christian Religion is everywhere, is a moral foundation, and is already active in the political world.

To clarify, the question of separating religion and politics is not the same as separating church and state. Religion and politics deal with two aspects of one life. To quote “Citizens who belong to religious groups are also members of the secular society, and this dual association generates complication.” I am only speaking to this dual association and not anything dealing with the separation of church and state.

To quote Stephen L. Carter, author of God’s Name in Vain, “Religion…has no sphere (79).” In other words, there is no specific place that religion occupies. It spills over into all aspects of our lives from work to school to politics. The history of America shows how religious Americans are. Our national motto is “In God We Trust,” and we have prayer before sessions of Congress. We even added the words “under God” to the pledge of Allegiance in the middle of the twentieth century.

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in May 2005, 55 of Americans say religion is very important in their lives, 28 say fairly important, and only 16 say that religion is not very important. Also asked in this Gallup Poll was how often Americans attended a church or a synagogue. 32 of Americans say they attend a church or synagogue once a week, 12 say almost every week, 14 about once a month. While these percentages are low combined they trump the 14 of Americans that say they never attend a church or synagogue. From this angle it is obvious to see why the Christian Religion should be allowed in the political realm: There is no way to completely remove Christianity from politics because it is part of who we are.

The Christian philosophy is the source of many of the moral foundations of America. According to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, almost half of Americans think belief in God is needed to be moral and have values, and 58 of Americans think the Strength of American Society is based on religious faith. And while the Separation of Church and State has removed some of Christianity’s values from public life, there still exists a remnant of those morals in American Society. For instance, the Ten Commandments: Although they have been removed from many public arenas, those ten divine rules have formed foundational laws of the United States. Once again, the reason Christian Religion should not be removed from politics is because it is already deeply ingrained in our laws and us.

Christians have been active in politics since the beginning of America’s history. There were Christians involved in the Abolitionist movement in the 1850s and 1860s. Christians were at work when the Prohibition Amendment passed in the beginning of the 20th century. Many Christian Religious organizations, conservative and otherwise, have been created recently to be active in politics. Pat Robertson’s the Christian Coalition of America was one of the first to be created in 1989. Focus on the Family, a Colorado Springs based ministry geared toward an empowering of the American Family, has increasingly become more involved in the political world as seen by their documented press releases on their website: Americans also believe churches should express their views on political matters: 52 according to a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in June 2003. Also, according to a survey by the Pew Forum, 57 of Americans have heard their clergy have spoken about the Iraq War. The American Public knows the church takes a role in politics. How deeply involved they are depends upon the church. The increase of the “Religious Right” in recent years also points to the activeness of Christianity in Politics. During the 2000 and 2004 elections, many groups were founded to help in the campaigns of conservative Republicans, and these groups are still in force in America to give a voice to the conservative base that is supporting President Bush. Seeing the Christian Religion already involved in politics, it seems pointless to remove that which is already at work in the political systems.

In Conclusion, the Christian Religion is everywhere, is a moral foundation, and is already active in the political world. Christianity is deeply fundamental to America and Americans and has been used in politics since the beginning of American history. For those who believe religion should play no active role in public life, they do not know their constituents. To once again quote Stephen Carter’s God’s Name in Vain, “The death of religion has been declared many times. It is said to be a spent force, no longer relevant to matters of genuine human concern, a superstition that cannot survive our technological times. It is said to fall to pieces under the scrutiny of our trained faculties of critical rationality. It is said to be outmoded, misogynistic, arrogant, and irrational. But it never goes away (188).” Politics and the Christian Religion will always mix in America, the question is whether or not you will allow these two forces to shape our country for good.