do you think religious matter should be mixed in with political matters?or should religious and political?

Question

matters be kept as far from each other as possible?

Answer 1

As far away as possible, farther than that even.

Answer 2

That depends on the type of nation you wish to live in. Religion is much like a collective spirituality in that spirituality is of the individual, while religion is of the community; but their essence is the same.
No two individuals are alike, no two people will see the same thing in the exact same way, and so no two forms of spirituality are exactly alike. These differences make themselves apparent as disagreements within a congregation, church, or religion. As more people are gathered "beneath one roof", the more numerous, bitter, and deeper, religious disagreements become. Eventually religions split into two or more camps (e.g. the reformation, the great shism of catholics and orthodox, the sunni/shiite split).
It is a matter of humanity and the prevention of suffering, to prevent a condition of oppression. But by definition, politics affects all aspects of worldly life, as they are essentially "policies" that affect the governed, the citizens of a nation.
Religion would mix with politics without a problem if it weren't for one fact. Since every religion and sect claims superiority over all others, we could only mix one religion with politics. So the question becomes: what religion will it be?
That would create a humanitarian crisis in terms of religious oppression. And since everyone takes their own religion so seriously, armed conflict would likely result. There's no way that would make our worldly lives any better, and very little chance it could make our spiritual lives better (but everybody's different, so you never know... ).
Personally, I couldn't live in an oppressive nation. It's like Patrick Henry said: "Give me liberty, or give me death!". And I couldn't tell anyone else what to believe either. But most importantly, because I'm human and as selfish as any other, I would never compromise my spiritual beliefs by submitting to any state sponsored religion. I would fight and die first.
And because many people feel the same way about themselves is probably the best reason we shouldn't mix politics with religion. It doesn't make political sense in the large scheme of things. It may win an election or two, but a government wouldn't be able to stand as long as people take their religion seriously (and they do!).

P.S. religious beliefs can also be manipulated to serve a purely polical, secular cause, often through the translation of religious texts and references.

Answer 3

Well, I think that depends on where you live. If it is the US. The founding fathers set the gov up with the frame of mind that the citizens would be "God fearing" people. There was to be no religious reigns by the GOV on the people. Not the other way around, like most would have you believe today. God was a central figure in how the US was formed and it should always remain that way. One reason is so "the people" had inalienable rights granted by God not the gov. and the gov would then not have absolute power.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Answer 4

I think they should be kept apart. Religions are for those who choose to join them. States (and politics) are for all of us alike. As an unbeliever, I have the right to be governed through laws that don't include any religious value, just because it comes from a religion. I mean, not killing is both a religious value AND a non-religious value. So, there should be a law against killing. But divorce is only against religious principles. There is nothing outside religions against it. So, it should not be banned. And religious people should be given the right not to do it, just as much as non-religious people should be given the right to do it.

Answer 5

That would be like making everyone eat chocolate ice cream because you think it's the "only" flavor worthy of being eaten.

Truth is, no one really has conclusive proof that their religion is actually the best.

And knowing that everyone has their own concept of god, how can you ever mix the two? Politics and Religion.

Politics affects everyone, regardless of who or what they worship. Tax cuts, better foreign policy, better wages, these are things the politicians should be concentrating on.

I think religion is a personal choice that should not be mixed with politics.

Diva

Answer 6

As far apart as possible.

Religion is a powerful motivating force, and one that has a great impact on what people believe and how they act.

Politics is a venue where people with an agenda can wield huge amounts of power, and have a dramatic forced impact on the lives of many people.

Putting the two together is a recipe for either disaster or a theocracy, as it has been for every other country that's tried in in the past few thousand years.

Answer 7

In a country of mixed religions working to co-exist, I think it's difficult to accomodate everyone's religious issues. People should be able to practice religion - or not - but everyone should take an active role in the political issues of their country.

Answer 8

People with religious beliefs are always going to consider them in any decision they make including politics. People that use those beliefs to start wars are twisting their religion to match their personal wants. Remove religion and they will still want the same things just find a different excuse. As long as their are people willing to kill to get what they want, someone is going to have to be willing to fight and possibly kill them to stop them. Sad as it may seem

Answer 9

Definitely not. Church and state must be kept as separate as possible. Religious convictions may not always be rational or in the best interests of all members of a religiously diverse population.

Answer 10

When the founding fathers were first hammering out the constitution they had alot of dissagreements. Things got so bad that Ben Franklin stood up and told everyone he should go back and have three days of prayer. There were preachers brought in to inspire the framers of the constitution along with religous services for those three days. After three days they came back and promptly finished writing the constitution.

Answer 11

Religion is the biggest issue in the world, so there is no way to seperate the two until people evolve beyond the need to cling to a mythical father figure that punishes people for being "bad" and loves people who are "good"