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Interestingly, Baptists and Catholics haven't always had the alliance they do today. Baptists see Catholicism as a cult and not true Christians. Today, Baptists and Catholics are allies in the fight against abortion. However, most people advocating for doing away with separation of church and state and making this a "Christian nation" are under the assumption that in doing so, fundamentalist Baptist theology would prevail as the official doctrine we would run our country by.
What if separation of church and state were abolished, but Catholicism became the prevailing religion promoted by the government? What if students were taught to pray to saints in the public schools and say the rosary? What if "Bible reading" required in schools included the Catholic apocrypha, books that Baptists don't believe should even be in the Bible? Baptists see these practices as heretical. What if the Pope somehow came to have the same influence on our politics that Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson do? I am sure if this came to pass, they would soon be supporting separation of church and state again, like the SBC did prior to Jerry Falwell.
Thoughts?
I have no dog in this fight (not Christian), but I'll bring the popcorn.
Interestingly, Baptists and Catholics haven't always had the alliance they do today. Baptists see Catholicism as a cult and not true Christians. Today, Baptists and Catholics are allies in the fight against abortion. However, most people advocating for doing away with separation of church and state and making this a "Christian nation" are under the assumption that in doing so, fundamentalist Baptist theology would prevail as the official doctrine we would run our country by.
What if separation of church and state were abolished, but Catholicism became the prevailing religion promoted by the government? What if students were taught to pray to saints in the public schools and say the rosary? What if "Bible reading" required in schools included the Catholic apocrypha, books that Baptists don't believe should even be in the Bible? Baptists see these practices as heretical. What if the Pope somehow came to have the same influence on our politics that Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson do? I am sure if this came to pass, they would soon be supporting separation of church and state again, like the SBC did prior to Jerry Falwell.
Thoughts?
Lots of countries are such, and it doesn't make any difference.
Interestingly, Baptists and Catholics haven't always had the alliance they do today. Baptists see Catholicism as a cult and not true Christians. Today, Baptists and Catholics are allies in the fight against abortion. However, most people advocating for doing away with separation of church and state and making this a "Christian nation" are under the assumption that in doing so, fundamentalist Baptist theology would prevail as the official doctrine we would run our country by.
What if separation of church and state were abolished, but Catholicism became the prevailing religion promoted by the government? What if students were taught to pray to saints in the public schools and say the rosary? What if "Bible reading" required in schools included the Catholic apocrypha, books that Baptists don't believe should even be in the Bible? Baptists see these practices as heretical. What if the Pope somehow came to have the same influence on our politics that Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson do? I am sure if this came to pass, they would soon be supporting separation of church and state again, like the SBC did prior to Jerry Falwell.
Thoughts?
If 'we' made America a Catholic nation, we'd pretty much be Iran.
The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
I think intention is everything, I do believe children can be exposed to different world religions at very young age. So if a public school teacher wants to display bible verse on her desk, I see no problem with it. I certainly don't view it as a "separation of church and state" issue.
I also believe a muslim teacher should have all the freedom carrying a Koran with him or her.
Interestingly, Baptists and Catholics haven't always had the alliance they do today. Baptists see Catholicism as a cult and not true Christians. Today, Baptists and Catholics are allies in the fight against abortion. However, most people advocating for doing away with separation of church and state and making this a "Christian nation" are under the assumption that in doing so, fundamentalist Baptist theology would prevail as the official doctrine we would run our country by.
What if separation of church and state were abolished, butpromoted by the government? What if students were taught to pray to saints in the public schools an Catholicism became the prevailing religion d say the rosary? What if "Bible reading" required in schools included the Catholic apocrypha, books that Baptists don't believe should even be in the Bible? Baptists see these practices as heretical. What if the Pope somehow came to have the same influence on our politics that Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson do? I am sure if this came to pass, they would soon be supporting separation of church and state again, like the SBC did prior to Jerry Falwell.
Thoughts?
WHAT????????????? It would be open season on little boys.
.
As a Catholic, I would be opposed to enforced religion. If people don't have an honest conviction, they shouldn't feel obligated to belong to a relligion. I would rather be a part of a small Catholic Church of all devout believers than be a citizen of a nominal Catholic country in which most people are just doing the motions for fear of being persecuted.
And I think most Catholics feel the same way, even the bishops and the Pope.
That was already tried in Italy and parts of Europe in centuries past, with mixed results, then it sort of faded away.
Ultimately, governments are made of people, groups of individual human beings, not ideologies, even institutions. To put it another way, ideologies and institutions are only as good as the people who act in their name.
Who, among human beings, is good? And who is the judge?
At any rate, or perhaps because of that, once an ideology becomes a governing principal in society, it sort of loses its meaning, doesn't it? There are so many examples that one could cite, all over the globe and across time for thousands of years.
Ultimately, then, things such as religion and other ideologies are best left to individual conscience (Retroit puts it well above), while societies are best organized under the principals of rule of law.
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