Faith Wars: Religion and Politics in America

Ashley Bennerson

11/10/2010

12:03 p.m.

A gap is growing in America between an increasingly Christian morality-driven conservative right and an increasingly polarized and oppositional liberal left. “Ground Zero Mosque” and “Obama’s A Muslim?” are simplified, eye-catching headlines that demonstrate the problem between church and state. In recent months, many stories where politics, religion and culture clashed have become massive media and political events. For example, plans for an Islamic cultural center to be built within blocks of the World Trade Center disaster. The Cordoba House, or “Ground Zero Mosque,” became a flash point for debate about how the rest of post-9/11 America engaged with Muslim Americans. But other recent headlines, and our joint focus on them, suggest that some fear still lies underneath the cultural surface and that it’s boiling over the political hotpot.

This articles problem between church and states not only is happening in the U.S. but in other parts of the world. This is extreme because the separation of church and state means that politics and religion can’t work together. I think that that it is important for them to be able to work together because politics allows some structure and stability in the world and religion can serve the same purpose. This is an example of religious division because the separation of state and the church shows that religious beliefs and practice shouldn’t influence or be included in politics. Personal beliefs shouldn’t influence or be a part of politics but I think that if it’s about a religion collectively or as a whole then it should play some part in politics if necessary.


http://www.statepress.com/2010/11/10/faith-wars-religion-and-politics-in-america/