The Constitution explicitly allows members of any faith to run for federal office. The "no religious test" principle is so firmly ingrained in American culture, we hardly have to mention it. Anyone who otherwise meets the requirements can be on the ballot, no matter what their religious affiliation might be. Author Damon Linker is arguing for another kind of religious test, however. He says voters should demand that candidates explain how their religious beliefs may or may not clash with governmental responsibilities. It's like it's 1960 all over again:
Unlike the tests proscribed by the Constitution, this one would not threaten to formally bar members of specific traditions from public office. But religious convictions do not always harmonize with the practice of democratic government, and allowing voters to explore the dissonance is legitimate.
Every religion is radically particular, with its own distinctive beliefs about God, human history and the world. These are specific, concrete claims — about the status of the religious community in relation to other groups and to the nation as a whole, about the character of political and divine authority, about the place of prophecy in religious and political life, about the scope of human knowledge, about the providential role of God in human history, and about the moral and legal status of sex. Depending on where believers come down on such issues, their faith may or may not clash with the requirements of democratic politics.
He then goes on to suggest a handful of questions every candidate should be asked. Most, frankly, are less about religious beliefs and more some version of: how committed to the Constitution *are* you? Those are attitudes and priorities things that could surely be gauged without reference to religious beliefs. If a candidate doesn't believe in science, or thinks that the law should regulate certain sexual relationships, we should of course ask about those things to determine how he or she would govern. But why blame religion?
There is simply no straight line between a set of religious beliefs and a set of governmental policy views and goals. There are Christians, Jews, Muslims and Mormons on both sides of the political divide across the country. Inquiring into one won't get you much closer in understanding the other. So, let's ask about their policy positions, their attitudes toward government, and their commitment to the Constitution directly. Those answers might land candidates in trouble with their church, sadly, but their church shouldn't get them in trouble with their country. There is no religious test for office. We should keep it that way.
