Written by Don Byrd
In the newest issue of Report From the Capital, BJC Director Brent Walker lays down some helpful rules for political campaigns when it comes to religion. Read the whole thing – Ten Commandments for Campaigns.
Here is a snippet from his introduction to the column:
[D]anger always lurks when we meld religion and politics. And, now is a propitious time to start thinking again about how we combine the two with subtlety and integrity while keeping an eye to the constitutional ban on religious tests for public office (Article VI, U.S. Constitution). Yes, that provision technically only bans legal religious qualifications for office imposed by government, but, as I have often argued, we should make every effort, as good citizens, to live up to the spirit as well as the letter of the religious test ban.
Although religion is at home in the American public square and is certainly relevant to the political conversation, it’s wrong to impose a rigorous religious litmus test in how we conduct our politics and the way we decide whom to trust to lead our nation.
All too often, voters are led to believe that a candidate’s faith speaks poorly of his or her politics; Or that a candidate’s politics speak poorly about his or her faith. Campaigns would go along way toward avoiding those harmful assumptions by following Rev. Walker’s Ten Commandments for Campaigns.
