James Talarico: The President of the United States said I insulted Jesus. You want to know what insults Jesus?

[lonely bird]

42. Which underscores...

When you mix religion and politics, you get politics. Religion on the macro scale is used for social control by power holders/seekers. God’s plan, God wills it, Inshallah are all used to claim deity approval for actions, usually violent or oppressive, that various actors want to take.

I am annoyed when someone running for office or deciding to leave office says things like this:

I am a person of faith (irrelevant)
I am a strong family man/woman (don’t care)
After prayerful consideration (really not possible to care less)

None of those things matter to whether or not a person will be a good politician which includes placing greater good above their own and standing up for those who are abused by society. If a person’s actions in that manner are influenced by their belief structure that is to be expected. Blanket vacuous statements are useless to determine what their belief structures are. Their actions and what they do in private are far more informative.

One thing that would be interesting is to see politicians grilled about their religion and made to defend their actions in reference to the dogma their chosen faith adheres to. Politicians often must act against their personal beliefs to accomplish societal improvement.