The role of religion in government

May 15th, 2005 | By Ara | Category: Faith & Religion

In an earlier post, I shared the results of one of those personality profiles. I’m supposedly an “Idealist,” someone that believes that “man is moving towards something greater,” and that (in time) “all things will again become one.”

Go figure.

Hal wrote back and suggested that it was “fascinating that your site name fits the description to a ‘T’.”

Hunh. You know, I hadn’t thought of it that way.

Clearly, I’ve always believed that if America is about anything at all, it’s about diverse people coming together to form a nation despite (and because of) their differences.

That’s why I picked the title of the site. I had recently paid a visit to the visitor’s gallery of the US Senate. I saw that “E Pluribus Unum” was chisled in stone over the main dais. It moved me.

But maybe, on another level, I chose it because I’ve always believed that (from the moment we’re born) we humans spend our entire lives trying to get back to God. Or, at least, something greater than ourselves.

It seems to me that some people try to merge with God through worship, but many others try to merge with God through art, music, dance, sex, drugs, heaven knows what else.

And not only that, but my hunch is that we all have that forehead-slapping moment as we “pass away” when we realize and recognize that’s what it was all about.

Well, anyway, that’s my story and I’m stickin to it.

P.S. The beauty of our system is that we all have the freedom to pursue that (or any) dream in our own way. Our Constitution sets forth the rules whereby the government (of the people, by the people and for the people) must stand aside and grant us that freedom.

But, have we lost our way? Has the pursuit of happiness made us into careless, self-absorbed, Godless creatures that have lost our spiritual way?

Good question and one worth debating. But if that is true, I certainly don’t think it is up to the government to set down rules that bring us “closer to God.”

That’s just wrong — that isn’t the role of government. Not our government, anyway.