Hey Rick? Shut up and go away!

We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. And so we must remain. Our very unity has been strengthened by our pluralism. We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate.

--Ronald Reagan

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.

- John F. Kennedy

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,-and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11. Submitted for ratification by President John Adams and Vice President Thomas Jefferson after signing and ratified unanimously by the United States Senate on June 7, 1797. 

I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute.

 Rick Santorum, Republican candidate for President of the United States, February 2012

[H]e looks tired.

Dr. Who

I wish the GOP would remember that Reagan statement, that we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs, and so we must remain and move on to important stuff instead of playing to people who still think it is 1950. Separation of Church and State is what protects religious freedom in this country. Many politicians, citizens and religious clerics understand this, but they are unfortunately in the vocal minority. Government staying out of religious matters (secularism) is as much for the protection religious majorities as it is for religious minorities, or atheists. To have a debate about birth control and religious control of the government in the US in the second decade of the 21st century is insane. We may all be sorry if the adults don't take control of the situation.

Below are some comments I found interesting from a message board regarding an article about Rick Santorum (R) getting physically ill regarding the separation of church and state. Hopefully, one day soon, we can laugh about this:

Conservatives quite often and earnestly make statements like "there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution." On a technical level they're right: the words "separation of church and state" do not in fact appear in the Constitution. Churches are political entities. Their goal is to have you under THEIR governance, as THEY see fit. That is why we have a separation of church and state. Churches are free to exist and do as they will, to bring people under their influence. They just aren't free to merge with government and FORCE people to do as they say.

The words "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof" are in the Constitution. But read the first clause closely, and listen carefully whenever a conservative quotes it. They almost always misquote it. They like to eliminate the word "respecting the," change the word "establishment" to "establishing," and replacing the "of" with "a," or "any particular."

The invasion of religion into the state is easily one of the gravest threats this country has to face. Forget what morals, beliefs, or ethics organized religion might occasionally provide, it has no place in deciding laws and how the country should be run. I understand that people's belief motivates their actions including their actions regarding public policy and that is fine. However, what Rick and others like him really want is to enforce their beliefs on me through the force of law. The government that governs least is the government that governs least. I don't need a religious person ordering me to follow their morals. I will quite happily give you the right to not use birth-control, not get abortions and pray until your knees bleed, please be so kind as to recognize that I have every right to do exactly the opposite of you if I see fit.

The Founders knew this better than anyone, having just come out of a period where radical religious beliefs had led the world down a path of violence and blissful ignorance, helping to destroy countless civilizations and end the lives of millions. Religion is dangerous to the state because it accepts no competing views: Christianity and Islam are some of the most prominent examples of this.

Jefferson himself made it very clear that the country was NOT founded on 'Christian principals' and was to be a secular nation (separation of church and state is a term used in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to Bible-thumping Connecticut Baptists in the early 19th century). Religion was to be separate from government.This is all very well documented and extensively commented upon. the concept of America is a christian nation' is deliberately and willfully wrong, and mildly toxic to the political processes of this nation.

I can only hope that there is enough sanity left in this country to keep someone like Santorum from moving up the totem pole. He's already dangerous enough in the position he currently holds---and it's already horrifying enough that he can spew this sort of nonsense and actually GAIN support by doing so.

Organized religion has always been about the control of the masses. From the Pharaohs, to the Divine Right of Kings, down to "One nation, under God." It is Iron Age superstition designed to keep the poor, poor, and the rich,rich.