Whenever I discuss politics, I always try to keep religion as far away as possible. By no means is this saying I’m not a spiritual person, I just feel like mixing politics and religion is somewhat of a toxic brew that can quickly become volcanic. With this being said, there’s a trend in U.S. politics that has emphasized religion’s role in policy and this is becoming a serious issue.
The mainstream political topic right now seems to be revolving around the Catholic Church, contraception and the Obama Administration. Basically, hospitals and businesses run by the Catholic Church do not want to offer contraception to their employees. Moreover, the Catholic Church doesn’t want the Obama Administration mandating they offer their employees basic health care insurance that includes contraception coverage. As a Catholic, I find their stance on the issue rather archaic, and frankly, it is modern-day oppression of women.
This blurring of religion and politics isn’t just a Catholicism-based offense. Richard Land, prominent member and leader of the Southern Baptist denomination, teamed up with several other influential evangelicals to endorse GOP candidate Rick Santorum. I suppose individuals are entitled to their respective opinions, but Land’s priorities are skewed. He’s taking his lofty position and utilizing it in a political fashion when his knowledge and advice would be much better if he stuck with the Scripture. By endorsing Santorum, Land has painted the Southern Baptist denomination into a corner. This is the same corner, hopefully far away from civilization, where many of Santorum’s outrageous policies should be subjected.
Have we reached a point in society where religion and politics are melted into one entity? If so, our society is only compounding serious problems. There is a place for religion and there is a place for politics. Ideally, these places need to be separated by a good amount of distance.
Others have seen this merger coming. Rev. Billy Graham has openly regretted his involvement with politics. To Graham’s credit, he was always associated with politicians regardless of policy or political party. He advised President Nixon as well as President Carter. For his equal guidance, Rev. Graham is truly an American patriot. Moreover, Graham’s reflective thought that he should have not mixed religion and politics is spot-on. Somewhere along the line, many of his fellow fundamentalists have failed to learn from Graham’s regret.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own political and religious beliefs. One of the perks of living in the United States is the right to belong to any religion and any political party. Though religious and political identities are individuals to choose, these identities should not be firmly linked.
Lately, the relationship between certain religions and the Republican Party has grown out of hand. Any worshipping or political party shouldn’t dictate a woman’s reproductive health. When certain Republicans protect health care providers from offering contraception to American women, they should be openly chastised.
If Republicans and Christian leaders want to enter into a relationship in order to prevent women from receiving contraception, our society is regressing. We are no longer living in the baby-boomer generation and contraception needs to be widely available for reproductive health and safety. When Republicans, such as Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, rally against openly available contraception, they attempt to digress American society to an era when contraception wasn’t openly available.
If politicians stayed in their respective world and legislated without refusing women contraception, America would improve. If religious fundamentalists would study Scripture and preach without barging into a woman’s privacy, America would improve. Social engineering isn’t desired in modern day America and I hope the GOP and religious fundamentalists get the message.
— Seth Campbell is a senior in history. He can be reached at scampb42@utk.edu.
