People Tiring of Mixing Politics and Church

A recent survey published in the Washington Times shows that a strong majority of people don't want their churches used as campaign stops by politicans, and they don't want tips on who to vote for coming from the pulpit of those churches either. This is one of the more refreshing things I've seen in a while.



Americans have a message for political candidates considering campaigning in their churches over the next year — butt out.


A new Fox 5-The Washington Times-Rasmussen Reports poll found less than one in four of those surveyed said it's appropriate to campaign at their religious services, and a whopping 62 percent said it's not right.


Another 70 percent said they don't want their priest, minister, rabbi or Imam to "suggest" who to vote for, either.


"There are lines that people feel you shouldn't cross. Different people might draw them at different places, but they clearly exist," said Scott Rasmussen, who conducted the survey. He said that doesn't mean voters don't want candidates to show up and attend their services, but they also "don't want to see a sermon or something presented as a sermon by a presidential candidate."



The first person I know of that used the pulpit to make strong political statements was Dr. Martin Luther King during the civil rights battles of the 1960's. I seem to remember Jimmy Carter making campaign appearances at a few churches in 1976, then he and Ronald Regan both doing so in 1980.



Once Regan got elected and the religious right took credit for it, the lines blurred between politics and the pulpit, and the more "fundamentalist" the church was, the more the two areas became intertwined. My late wife Bette and I got up and walked out of more than one Catholic mass when the priest was telling us how a "good Catholic" should vote on a particular issue. That's not why we were there. We wanted to hear the word of God. If we want politics, we'd stay home and watch one of the news channels.



Turns out we weren't alone.



Pastor Brenda and I strongly believe in the separation of the two, as does Apostle Dale. We've never heard politics preached from the pulpit at Believers Covenant Fellowship and we won't, even politics we may agree with.



Matters of faith clearly influence an individual's views on matters of politics. I just don't want to hear a stump speech at my church or go to a political rally and hear a sermon.



It appears that most people want to re-establish those lines. I hope pastors and politicians are listening for a change.