The Moral Dilemma Of Religion And Politics

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The Moral Dilemma of Religion and Politics Tanya Forbes SOC 315 August 15, 2011 The Moral Dilemma of Religion and Politics Within every culture and civilization there is a distinct and purposeful effort to define, divide, and identify one group of people from another. The methods are as old as time; as throughout history the means used to define a civilization’s identity were wrought through religion, language, culture, and governance. Understanding the events that took place which enabled America to become what it is, and discerning the religious underpinnings of our nation, we may ask if religion and politics is really a problem? What does separation of church and state really mean, and to what extent does it apply? Regardless of the argument for or against religion’s role in politics, it is clear they cannot be truly separated. While not everyone belongs to or believes in a religion, religion will always be a part of politics. It is woven throughout our most revered documents insuring our freedoms, and since the birth of our nation, religion has been ingrained into the fabric of our culture. Furthermore, religion is a moral entity, and one denotes the existence of the other. When choosing a political party, one does so on the basis of their moral principles which are predominately rooted in a religious ideology. “When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation” (Rakove, 2011). If we follow this course of human events to present day, we find ourselves at a moral dilemma as we ponder, argue, and
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