Religious Participation In Government
Faith groups and institutions should be able to form political parties to gain influence in government for their views and values. I will be discussing why they should be able to enter politics and attempt to elect their own politicians, what religious participation in government may look like, and how it would be limited. I will also discuss how a complete ban on religion in government may be unconstitutional, and the possible pros and cons of their participation in government.
Religious groups should be able to participate in government because the separation of church and state denies them the civil liberty to participate in politics armed with ideas formed from their spiritual values in the public square (Dreisbach). Thomas Jefferson’s …show more content…
DiDonato cites Ryan LaMothe on how religion can affect political beliefs at the individual level. The article suggests that governments are going for a split between religion and politics but they actually mix quite a bit. LaMothe lists five ways religion can affect political beliefs at the individual level. The first being that early on in life a person identifies with a particular religion and later on in life they disassociate themselves from that religion. With that religion in their mind, even though they are no longer a part of that group political ideology could replace the religion they once believed in. An example used was a religious belief of loving your neighbor could transform into secular political activism, like fighting for the poor. That could lead to a political activist dedicating his life to reducing poverty the same way a person could dedicate themselves to a particular religion (LaMothe).
The second would be the opposite of the first, a person starts out with no belief in religion and then later on in life converts to a religion. The result of converting to a religion later on in life could shift your political beliefs. The example for this would be a family that only goes to church on major holiday and then a member of the family dedicates themselves to that religion later on in life. This could lead to that individuals political views changing due to their newfound religious beliefs and religious community that they are now a part of
Religious groups should be able to participate in government because the separation of church and state denies them the civil liberty to participate in politics armed with ideas formed from their spiritual values in the public square (Dreisbach). Thomas Jefferson’s …show more content…
DiDonato cites Ryan LaMothe on how religion can affect political beliefs at the individual level. The article suggests that governments are going for a split between religion and politics but they actually mix quite a bit. LaMothe lists five ways religion can affect political beliefs at the individual level. The first being that early on in life a person identifies with a particular religion and later on in life they disassociate themselves from that religion. With that religion in their mind, even though they are no longer a part of that group political ideology could replace the religion they once believed in. An example used was a religious belief of loving your neighbor could transform into secular political activism, like fighting for the poor. That could lead to a political activist dedicating his life to reducing poverty the same way a person could dedicate themselves to a particular religion (LaMothe).
The second would be the opposite of the first, a person starts out with no belief in religion and then later on in life converts to a religion. The result of converting to a religion later on in life could shift your political beliefs. The example for this would be a family that only goes to church on major holiday and then a member of the family dedicates themselves to that religion later on in life. This could lead to that individuals political views changing due to their newfound religious beliefs and religious community that they are now a part of