Rick Santorum doesn’t believe in church/state separation and that should frighten everybody, religious and non-religious.

Here’s the relevant excerpt from his interview on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos, regarding the speech President John F. Kennedy made in which he spoke out in favor of church/state separation:

STEPHANOPOULOS: That speech has been read, as you know, by millions of Americans. Its themes were echoed in part by Mitt Romney in the last campaign. Why did it make you throw up? SANTORUM: Because the first line, first substantive line in the speech says, “I believe in America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country. This is the First Amendment. The First Amendment says the free exercise of religion. That means bringing everybody, people of faith and no faith, into the public square. Kennedy for the first time articulated the vision saying, no, faith is not allowed in the public square. I will keep it separate. Go on and read the speech. I will have nothing to do with faith. I won’t consult with people of faith. It was an absolutist doctrine that was abhorrent (ph) at the time of 1960. And I went down to Houston, Texas 50 years almost to the day, and gave a speech and talked about how important it is for everybody to feel welcome in the public square. People of faith, people of no faith, and be able to bring their ideas, to bring their passions into the public square and have it out. James Madison — STEPHANOPOULOS: You think you wanted to throw up? (CROSSTALK) SANTORUM: — the perfect remedy. Well, yes, absolutely, to say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes you throw up. What kind of country do we live that says only people of non-faith can come into the public square and make their case? That makes me throw up and it should make every American who is seen from the president, someone who is now trying to tell people of faith that you will do what the government says, we are going to impose our values on you, not that you can’t come to the public square and argue against it, but now we’re going to turn around and say we’re going to impose our values from the government on people of faith, which of course is the next logical step when people of faith, at least according to John Kennedy, have no role in the public square.

How out of touch with reality can one man be? To suggest that people of faith are left out of the national conversation and people without faith are the only ones who get to speak out is the exact opposite of what’s actually happening.

We live in a country where only one Congressperson, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), is openly non-theistic.

We live in a country where religious groups have incredible political power — power they built up, ironically, by claiming that they didn’t have any political power.

We live in a country where every single president in modern times has been a Christian. Not only have they all been Christian, atheists are the least electable minority group in the country. Forget getting elected — we still have to deal with the fear of coming out publicly to our family and friends.

We may talk about Mitt Romney‘s “Mormon problem,” but he’s still one of the frontrunners in the Republican primary. Even in the Democratic Party, you won’t see an openly non-religious candidate leading the pack anytime soon.

Patrick Caldwell at The American Prospect echoes these thoughts:

… Americans lacking allegiance to an organized religion are vastly underrepresented among public officials. Far from being ostracized as Santorum might imagine, politicians exploit religion to boost their fortunes at the polls. It’s been a common sight to find Santorum or Newt Gingrich gladhanding voters at a church on Sundays during campaign season, and the party’s opposition to same-sex marriage rights is couched entirely in the language of Christianity.

And Rick Santorum thinks we’re dominating the national conversation? He says this while he’s the sitting atop the current Republican polls? He has no idea what’s actually happening in this country to people who don’t buy into his worldview.

Then again, what do I know. I went to college, so I’ve clearly been indoctrinated by lefties.



