religion and politics in the united states and freedom of religion
...ies going to church weekly, different religious groups have tried to earn their piece of the governmental pie through holding office to making policy. These actions indirectly cause a merger of church and state. If a candidate isn’t of a particular faith or doesn’t support key religious issues, he may lose votes and be attacked by the devout. But now, with so many different faiths and differing opinions, pluralism has risen and muddied the waters for religious groups seeking power in government. With so many non-theistic faiths, how the First Amendment should be interpreted to protect them is in question. The second article, though brief, makes a very strong and valid point. If the First Amendment is to protect a multitude of faiths, how will order be kept between all of them? Because most feel that their faith is the foremost faith, they become zealous to the point of condescension and possibly violence. The author cites examples of Lebanon and India, where there is religious pluralism, which have much “religiously- inspired” violence. He states that tolerance is the only way to keep the country from erupting. There is much to learn from these two articles and from simple observations of society and politics. There ...