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A 16-year-old Clackamas, Oregon boy, Neal Beagley, died Tuesday, June 17, following complications from an infected urethra. As he was older than 14 years of age, he could determine which medical treatment he received or did not receive, and he chose the path of faith healing. Physicians felt that a catheter would have saved his life had he sought professional medical treatment. He […]
In an opinion piece published June 9 by Robert Novak, Novak describes the difficulty McCain has had winning the votes of religious right icons such as James Dobson and John Hagee and Catholics. Hagee, of course, has alienated Catholics with his description of Catholicism as “Godless theology,” something that McCain couldn’t abide, and Hagee has told friends that McCain “threw […]
If anything defines this election season, it is religion and politics, but as the Christian Century astutely points out, this can a troublesome mix. Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith. Mike Huckabee and his “Christian leader” ads. John McCain and John Hagee. Hillary Clinton and her “prayer warriors.” Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. The 2008 election has featured an extraordinary […]
The balance between faith and politics is fragile, and Asia Times writer Spengler gives an interesting perspective in today’s paper. It is worth reading. A link is provided following this excerpt: It is not only faith, but the temerity to act upon faith, that the pope and the president have in common. In the past I have characterized Benedict’s stance […]
“[Conservative leaders] need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted […]
By Michael D. Peabody – RELIGION SEEMS to have taken center stage this election cycle. Obama’s program, “Joshua Generation Project” is designed to reach young evangelical voters. It is quite inspiring, actually. In March, Obama spoke at a commemoration of the march to Selma, and linked the Biblical story of Joshua to the Civil Rights movement to the present. I’m […]
It seems like issues of a Presidential candidate’s religion have always been an issue in elections going back to the 1960s. In this video clip, John F. Kennedy discusses how he believes church and state should relate to each other. It also features a brief clip of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. (Note: This video also contains […]
No Religious Tests for Public Office? What about Political Tests to Receive Sacraments? Pepperdine University School of Law Professor, and former Constitutional law advisor for President Ronald Reagan, Douglas Kmiec was denied communion recently at a mass connected with a gathering of Catholic business people. The priest denounced Kmiec’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, then refused to give Kmiec communion. […]