The resurgence of religion into America's common discussion could be considered anything from humorous to dangerous. In actuality- and most importantly- the interjection of religion into political discourse is an ignorance of what religion truly is, and what role it is meant to play.
One nation under God.
In God we trust.
God bless America.
There has been a resurgence of discussion about, and involving, religion in American policy and law. Often the references start out innocuous and anecdotal, but they begin to seep into real life principles, decisions and directives. The President himself often interjects God and religion in awkward, if not frightening, places in his discourse with the country.
Over its history, the American populace- believers and non-believers alike- have always assumed that religion is meant to play some active role in the government. Such a notion, however, ignores the inherent incongruity between the concept of religion and the concept of a free government.
America is not a religious nation. The country may happen to have a higher percentage of people believing in a God, or attending a church every now and then, than other western nations- but the core ideal under which the nation is founded directly contradict those of pretty much any religion.
For starters, all religions believe in some level of infinite morality. That is to say, they all have some set of rules- complex or simple- which supposedly have been around forever and cannot change. You can't amend the Koran. There is no way to vote on new commandments. American-style democracy (which, like it or not, has been- and continues to slowly be- adopted, in slightly different flavors, throughout the globe) is founded on a polar opposite view of morality. Right and wrong changes over time, rules are meant to be broken- the American Constitution not only allows for it, it expects it.
Setting aside all of the generic accolades given to American democracy ("freedom and liberty for all!"), its single most beautiful characteristic is that those in power must admit that they're merely trying their best, probably have a lot of things mistaken, and will have many of their "rights" and "wrongs" disproved over time.
- OPPOSING TENETS, OPPOSITE RESULTS -
The main tenets of religion itself, on a point-by-point basis, are the exact converse of the tenets of American democracy. All religions are founded on some form of the following notions: obedience, equality of the masses, and expected salvation. These may sound similar to characteristics of American government, but at a foundation level, they are the complete opposite.
1. Obedience
You can't have a religion without a God (or Gods) of some sort. And with any God, comes the obligation to obey said God unconditionally and without question. The evolution of an American-style government, however, relies on disobedience. While rampant and thoughtless disobedience- which often doesn't help anything evolve- is checked and balanced by the existence of traditionalists and those in charge of enforcing only the current laws, growth can only truly be seeded by revolutionaries who disobey the rule of law on the basis of having a higher understanding of right and wrong. Such chaos has no place in religion, but, conversely, is that which maintains a government' relevancy in its time.
