2008 Woodie Awards
Government professor cynical about combination of government, morals
Students hear origins of Constitution, current political foundations.
By Jeff Reese
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
Originally published: 4/3/08 at 11:50 AM CSTLast update: 4/3/08 at 5:21 PM CST
|
Government Professor Asslan Khaligh gave his audience his opinion of how such a movement could potentially set the country against itself.
Khaligh said religion in the government goes back to the beliefs of the country's founding fathers, as the vast majority of them came from Christian backgrounds.
He continued by noting the way some current presidential candidates try to inject Christianity into their respective political forums.
He named Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who were vying for the Republican presidential nomination before Huckabee dropped out, as examples.
Khaligh said both put forward the notion that America is "a nation of Christians."
Khaligh called politicians who place Christian beliefs into their forum "Christian nationalists."
In other words, they want everybody's actions to be based on Christianity.
In spite of the First Amendment clause, which states Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, Khaligh noted a survey which said more than half of surveyed Americans feel their country is run as a Christian nation.
Khaligh contradicted this belief by reminding people of the full text of the U.S. Constitution regarding religious freedom; the government should respect people regardless of their religion or lack thereof.
While placing morality in government might lead to prayer in schools, Khaligh believes such a movement is unlikely to occur.
"Our nation was originally Christian, but now there are so many religions and groups in the United States," Khaligh said.
"There is no need for government to get involved in this matter. If you're a good Christian, a good Muslim or a good anything, you can pray anywhere without the government getting involved."
Khaligh said many politicians, namely President George W. Bush, tell voters how they were told by God to run for office, a practice Khaligh opposes.
This is an open forum for the readers of TheRanger.org. Abusive, inflammatory, slanderous, obscene and libelous language will not be tolerated. Please be considerate of other readers when posting comments. This is not the place for personal attacks. The staff of The Ranger.org reserves the right to deny publication of any posts. The comments posted here do not reflect the opinions of The Ranger staff, San Antonio College or the Alamo Community College District.
Be the first to comment on this story