Ever since the Republican Party embraced the Religious Right in the 80s, we've been inching closer and closer to a religious litmus test for public office. It's no surprise therefore, that this story from WaPo came along.
Washington Post covers a story of two students at the ultra-conservative Liberty University - yes the one that was founded by Jerry Falwell who spoke against racial integration in 1958 - and how their views diverge when faced with Mitt Romney coming to speak at the school's commencement.
One is excited to see Mitt, the other plans to avoid the event altogether, saying that, "People get so blinded by their party that they forget principle." What principle is she talking about? Religion. She remarks that, "His theology goes against my faith. I’m not going to vote for him for that.”
She speaks as if being Mormon is a pejorative! Is Buddhism a pejorative, too? Is Catholicism?
Imagine living in a country where the only way you could ever get into office, is if you were Muslim, and a conservative Shi'a one at that. Also, the guiding principles for government was determined and dictated by religious leaders. You'd be in Iran.
And that's where we're headed in the US, as conservatives have argued for chipping away the separation between church and state, and have proudly worn their religious credentials on their lapels. All you need to do is swap out Islam with Christianity, and we'd have a nation that was the mirror of Iran.
We're better than that. Or at least, we should be.
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