Mitt Romney, are you serious? Freedom requires religion?

Question

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/06/romney.speech/index.html

now, I get it when he says religion requires freedom. sure. that's nice.

but "freedom requires religion"? WHAT?

someone help me. please explain.

DannyK: Religion requires freedom. I get that.

please think about the opposite: "freedom requires religion".

I don't understand that....

Answer 1

He's trying to emulate himself after Kennedy, but the political landscape and majority opinion of the base he is pandering to is completely different from that of the 1960s era:

"'I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute,' said Kennedy, who two months later would defeat Richard Nixon and claim the White House."

But that's not what Romney is saying!

"There's a difference between the electorate and a difference in the political landscape" between 1960 and the 2008 race, Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said Monday. "Religion matters more now than then. Candidates wear their religion on their sleeves."

"In 1960, some voters were wary of Catholicism, but most worried far more about communism, Southeast Asia and competing economically abroad. Today, many GOP voters wonder about Mormonism, but concentrate on terrorism,
health care and immigration."

Apparently, religious people today can only feel moral when their religion is explicitly reflected in their government, and by extention will control others (making them "moral" citizens, too). It's very, very frightening, I must say... I don't think Jesus ever intended us to do this =(

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7630063

Answer 2

Freedom requires a set of values. You can't rely on having a law to cover every event. Wouldn't it be better to hire someone who won't steal from your bank or hire someone who will try to find some technical way around rules to get what they can. The more values we have as a society the fewer rules (laws) are required to maintain standards. Where do we get our values? Like it not, religion is the answer. It doesn't matter which faith you follow because most them frown on stealing, murder, and deceit. Try to imagine if only those three values were universal.

Answer 3

More correctly stated, religion requires freedom.
Right-wing fanatics always thinking backwards.

In other words, if you restrict religion, you are also restricting freedom.
right-wingers like to think it actually means that freedom is dependant on religion, in order to justify faith-based government, but it isn't.

Answer 4

What he is saying amounts to pure gibberish which doesn't make any kind of sense. Under his rule he'll probably require that if you are an atheist then your ability to participate in the rights guatanteed by the U.S. Constitution will be greatly impaired.......

Answer 5

I see this in sociological terms. Culturally, it is religion that provides the diversity in the global human experience. Without the need to express different religious beliefs, would the concept of freedom even have emerged?

Answer 6

If you take away the people's right to believe and worship as they choose, what kind of freedom is that?

I don't know, maybe he mixed up the quote. Either way he's entitled to his beliefs no matter how much you hate religion.

Perhaps he believes that religion truly frees people.

Answer 7

freedom would not require faith. it somewhat is ridiculous. he's basically pandering to the emotions of one of the main important constituent communities of the Republican occasion. in actuality, it somewhat is risky revisionism to declare that the USA replaced into "consistent with Christianity."

Answer 8

Is he saying we all need religion in order to have freedom??

Answer 9

He was quoting, then paraphrasing John Adams lefty.

Answer 10

lol, im the same as you, i dont get it at all...