Invitation to a Dialogue - Religion in Public Life - NYTimes.com Some people suggest that faith should be confined to the home and the house of worship, and play no role in public life. I believe that every person has a right, really a responsibility, to contribute his or her perspectives to the public forum, including perspectives of faith. But faith must never be the final word when it comes to writing the law. John F. Kennedy's landmark speech in 1960 on church-state separation stood as his pledge not to exploit public office to remake the rules of a nation to conform to his religion. In a reversal that concerns many supporters of religious liberty, some people today expect the opposite - that officials will base public policy on personal faith, especially when it comes to limiting the rights of same-sex couples and access to contraception, abortion care and sex education. The attempts to have religion dictate public policy are particularly troublesome when it comes to religious restrictions about family and intimate life. Let's keep in mind the diversity of religious teaching regarding same-sex relations, contraception and reproduction. And when faiths disagree, the state must not umpire the conversation, pick the winning religion or establish one set of doctrines as the rule. Every voice should be heard, including voices of faith. But we should not make law out of stricture, nor should we establish policy based on religious perspectives alone. Rather, we should promote policies that protect private belief and practice in a way that does not burden, restrict or impose upon the larger spiritually diverse community. The writer is the author of "All Politics Is Religious" and the director of Concerned Clergy for Choice. We plan to publish responses and Rabbi Ross's rejoinder in the Sunday Review.