Slate's William Saletan watched Saturday's Thanksgiving Family Forum and summed up the candidates' remarks with respect to the role of religion in government. He says they're not at all opposed to a theocracy (as long as it's Christian, of course). Here are the 12 takeaways on the topic from the candidate's remarks:
- Religious Americans must fight back against nonbelievers. (Herman Cain)
- The religious values we must fight for are Judeo-Christian. (Rick Perry)
- Our laws and our national identity are Judeo-Christian. (Michele Bachmann)
- No religion but Christianity will suffice. (Rick Perry)
- God created our government. (Michelle Bachmann)
- U.S. law should follow God's law. (Rick Santorum)
- Anything that's immoral by religious standards should be outlawed. (Rick Santorum)
- The federal government should impose this morality on the states. (Rick Santorum)
- Congress should erase the judiciary's power to review moral laws. (Newt Gingrich)
- Courts that get in the way should be abolished. (Newt Gingrich)
- The purge of judges should be based on public opinion. (Newt Gingrich)
- Freedom means obeying morality. (Rick Santorum)
Religious Root readers, this one is for you: Do these sound like ideas you could get behind? If not, why? If the 12 points — and the candidates themselves — make you squirm, what are the GOP hopefuls missing when it comes to the role of religion in politics?
Read more at Slate.
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