Santorum: "I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute"

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Sunday that he doesn't believe in the separation of church and state, adding that he was sickened by John F. Kennedy's assurances to Baptist ministers 52 years ago that he would not impose his Catholic faith on them.

"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute," Santorum, a devout Catholic, said in an interview from Michigan on ABC's "This Week."

"The First Amendment means the free exercise of religion and that means bringing people and their faith into the public square."

news.yahoo.com...

I think this seals the end for Santorum. I don't know how he can go on and on about government overreach and then state something like this.

Nutty Santorum just keeps topping himself with outrageous statements. Santorum would not only like push his beliefs on those who are not religious, but impose them on those who have a different religion altogether.

I can't believe this guy is leading polls.....

Message to Santorum: Your way too extreme for America. You can actually hear his campaign imploding every time he opens his mouth. His stint as flavor of the month is over although smug Santorum dosen't have a clue.

I think so to.

Personally, I think it should be seen as an extreme conflict of interest to even discuss religious matters while in office. No one should even know a politician's religion. Everyday we've got Newt quoting scripture, Santorum going bat$h!t on a goodly number of ridiculous subjects, and Romney being targeted for being a Mormon, and Obama for being either a racist Christian or an American hating Muslim.

This is the whole reason they (the founders) wanted to separate these two things. You cannot run a melting pot nation on the creed of one religion, whether you believe that religion to be the end-all be-all of human law or not.

Originally posted by FugitiveSoul
Personally, I think it should be seen as an extreme conflict of interest to even discuss religious matters while in office. No one should even know a politician's religion. Everyday we've got Newt quoting scripture, Santorum going bat$h!t on a goodly number of ridiculous subjects, and Romney being targeted for being a Mormon, and Obama for being either a racist Christian or an American hating Muslim.

This is the whole reason they (the founders) wanted to separate these two things. You cannot run a melting pot nation on the creed of one religion, whether you believe that religion to be the end-all be-all of human law or not.

edit on 26-2-2012 by FugitiveSoul because: (no reason given)

Well I think Santrum is off the deep end, his statement of having faith of a religion that can not be totally be separated from the office holder and he also believes their is nothing wrong with that.

Our founding fathers realized this too and set up insurances for this , so that places like the Vatican could never have influence on the level they did during the dark ages. They absolutely realized that personal faith was good and never intended for the level of separation people like you try to force on all .

reply to post by FugitiveSoul


So agree. Good post.

That said, if this guy stays on top, it will speak volumes to the mentality of our citizens and the direction the country is taking as a republic. Granted, I also think the votring system is rigged, so I can not hold the public completely responsible. It does seem though that the christians have taken a liking to him, constitution be damned.

Message to Santorum = USA is not a Christian nation. The only people that like you are 65+

Originally posted by David9176

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Sunday that he doesn't believe in the separation of church and state, adding that he was sickened by John F. Kennedy's assurances to Baptist ministers 52 years ago that he would not impose his Catholic faith on them.

"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute," Santorum, a devout Catholic, said in an interview from Michigan on ABC's "This Week."

"The First Amendment means the free exercise of religion and that means bringing people and their faith into the public square."

news.yahoo.com...

I think this seals the end for Santorum. I don't know how he can go on and on about government overreach and then state something like this.

Nutty Santorum just keeps topping himself with outrageous statements. Santorum would not only like push his beliefs on those who are not religious, but impose them on those who have a different religion altogether.

I can't believe this guy is leading polls.....

edit on 26-2-2012 by David9176 because: (no reason given)

Oh...I can believe it. He's in a dead heat with Gingrich for the being the most ignorant...however, Santorum brings the added benefit of religious kookery along with his fascism.

Why WOULDN'T he be the front runner. Are we talking about the same United States that I'm familiar with??

Ron Paul for president.

Well looks like Sanitorium's at it again........

reply to post by Azadok

 

Well I think Santrum is off the deep end, his statement of having faith of a religion that can not be totally be separated from the office holder and he also believes their is nothing wrong with that.

Our founding fathers realized this too and set up insurances for this , so that places like the Vatican could never have influence on the level they did during the dark ages. They absolutely realized that personal faith was good and never intended for the level of separation people like you try to force on all .

People like me, huh?

"My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest. The artificial structures they have built on the purest of all moral systems, for the purpose of deriving from it pence and power, revolts those who think for themselves, and who read in that system only what is really there." ~Thomas Jefferson

Every religion begins pure. Very soon, you'll find, all religions become infiltrated by the wicked and the greedy. The bible is as a tool for evil as it is a tool for love. That goes for every holy book. The founding fathers new this. Just like people "like me."

Well, the polls may say he is in the lead, but really who publishes the polls? He is a quack, and the other people running are iffy (IMO) as well.

Nutty Santorum just keeps topping himself with outrageous statements. Santorum would not only like push his beliefs on those who are not religious, but impose them on those who have a different religion altogether.

Kind of like the current Administration imposing its radical, secular, anti-religious beliefs on the American people, right?

The Founding Fathers never intended for people of faith to be restricted from the public square. In fact, the whole point of democracy is to let voices from different faiths and different perspectives duke it out in the public square, and let the people decide which voice is the best for the country.

And, really, what beliefs of Santorum are so objectionable exactly? That he is pro-family? That he deplores the depravity and immorality in our culture? That he takes a hard stance against promiscuity and out-of-wedlock birth rates? That he wants a strong manufacturing base? That he objects to big government spending? These are all values to which many mature, fair-minded Americans would concur.

Santorum is capturing the attention of the American people because he is a God-fearing man and stands for traditional, conservative values. This is resonating with the American people, especially those of us in the Midwest who are sick and tired of the goofy, radical 60's liberal hippies that are destroying our culture and our country.

reply to post by FugitiveSoul


Well if we had some leaders with good religious convictions we would have never started the federal reserve or blown up our trade center killing thousands of people for prophet . But then again this is what you get with godless people and I do not need a history lesson on what the catholic church did hundreds of years ago . I am reeling to real Gd fearing people not the ones that profess to be for votes. Of course now that voting is automated the point is moot.

Wow, down the road we'd have another Salem Witch Trials.

Some people never learn.. sheesh..

In a way he is right. But the fact he is right doesn't make it right. The President is sworn into office with his hand on the Christian bible. The problem is though is that you can't get elected as President or even usually to most any political office without your personal expression of your "faith." Even if it's a lie. Obama may well be a Muslim, but he would never have been elected as POTUS if he ever admitted it.

I'm from the deep south initially. It used to annoy the hell out of me when you'd meet someone new or whatever, and one of the first questions you would be asked is "what church do you go to? " To answer you didn't go to church would usually be followed by an expression of shock, followed often with being shunned. I personally don't care about being shunned, but a politician certainly would. Speration of church and state isn't just a suggestion. Or even an option. It is a requirement by the US Constitution.

If the religious right would stop with their rhetoric and irrationallity of forced beliefs, the US, and the world as a whole would be a much better place.

My concern has always considered the fact that the term, the 'separation between church and state', sometimes called the "wall of separation between church and state" is a mostly a one way street protecting the rights of religion, but doing little if anything to protect government against interference by religion.


en.wikipedia.org...

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...." and Article VI specifies that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

Jefferson's metaphor of a wall of separation has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Reynolds v. United States (1879) the Court wrote that Jefferson's comments "may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [First] Amendment." In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), Justice Hugo Black wrote: "In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state."[2]

However, I find it very interesting in what I can easily interrupt as a group having or imposing a religious belief on individuals in a smaller or different group by creating and enforcing a law by virtue of favored individuals in a position of power, i.e. POTUS as has already been described in rulings regarding the rights of individuals by SCOTUS referring to Section 1 of the 14th amendment under Discrimination and to continue, although originally ruled under 'Sexual Orientation' clearly stating SCOTUS "held that the amendment violated the Equal Protection Clause because the amendment was motivated by a bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group, which is never a legitimate governmental interest.

Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be used as an expression of derogatory racial prejudice in the 1830s from Thomas D. Rice's performances as "Jim Crow".

Do any of you really care about the religious aspect of the question?

Drudge is, right now, reporting that Obama is calling for churches to support him for President, and in the last two months has said that his policies are influenced by his Christian faith.

He's attended Presidential Prayer breakfasts and has dinners in the White House to celebrate feats ending Ramadan.

It looks like the opposition to Santorum isn't because of his religion, but because of his conservatism. That's ok, but at least be honest about it.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
Message to Santorum = USA is not a Christian nation. The only people that like you are 65+

And that is a large voting demographic that participates in the complete election process. I wouldn't dismiss the "65+" crowd so disparagingly as you have.

He should be running for office in Iran... even there they wouldn't want him.

Maybe he ought to run in Saudi Arabia... there they might like him.

Or in Israel.

The religious extremists are a problem... in the US, just like in the middle-east.