2008 Woodie Awards
Keep your beliefs to yourself
Religion and politics just don't mix
Justin Lyman
Issue date: 10/21/04 Section: Opinions
Our forefathers put much thought in to the Constitution. They decided that, all in all, it was a good document, but there needed to be a few amendments in order to preserve some of their thoughts throughout the eons.
The things that needed to be addressed, speech, rights, religion, etc, were written in vague language to allow for interpretation. Take the First Amendment for example; "Congress shall make no law..." For years this has been interpreted by everyone and anyone who wanted to make their point.
Taking a look solely at the religious implications of the First Amendment, it is clear to see what the intent was. Our forefathers were deeply religious, as many of our leaders today are, but they wanted to safeguard the ability to practice and worship in any way they wanted.
Today, however, we are entering a time where more and more religious dogma is being thrown at us from different angles and sides. The problem is not that it is coming from religious leaders, but from secular ones. Last I checked, we are not in a Theocracy, such as Iran, the former Afghanistan, or countries of the like.
Our secular leaders have the right to be religious, but do not have the right to try and mold our society by their religious views. One of the main examples in recent history is the use of stem cell research. Our president and congress have severely limited this research to further their own religious agendas and appease the part of their political base that does not agree with stem cell research based upon what they have been told by their pastors.
Stem cell research is the use of embryonic cells that have not developed into a specific type of cell yet. A stem cell is an extremely basic cell that can be coaxed to grow into a specific type of cell (heart, nerve, liver, kidney, etc.). First, surplus embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures in fertility clinics are thawed. The inner cell mass of an embryo is extracted. Stem cells are all that remain. (www.religoustolerance.org)
The things that needed to be addressed, speech, rights, religion, etc, were written in vague language to allow for interpretation. Take the First Amendment for example; "Congress shall make no law..." For years this has been interpreted by everyone and anyone who wanted to make their point.
Taking a look solely at the religious implications of the First Amendment, it is clear to see what the intent was. Our forefathers were deeply religious, as many of our leaders today are, but they wanted to safeguard the ability to practice and worship in any way they wanted.
Today, however, we are entering a time where more and more religious dogma is being thrown at us from different angles and sides. The problem is not that it is coming from religious leaders, but from secular ones. Last I checked, we are not in a Theocracy, such as Iran, the former Afghanistan, or countries of the like.
Our secular leaders have the right to be religious, but do not have the right to try and mold our society by their religious views. One of the main examples in recent history is the use of stem cell research. Our president and congress have severely limited this research to further their own religious agendas and appease the part of their political base that does not agree with stem cell research based upon what they have been told by their pastors.
Stem cell research is the use of embryonic cells that have not developed into a specific type of cell yet. A stem cell is an extremely basic cell that can be coaxed to grow into a specific type of cell (heart, nerve, liver, kidney, etc.). First, surplus embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization procedures in fertility clinics are thawed. The inner cell mass of an embryo is extracted. Stem cells are all that remain. (www.religoustolerance.org)