John F. Kennedy once said, “I do not speak for my Church on public matters — and the Church does not speak for me.” That may have been true for JFK in 1960, but in recent years religion has played an increasingly larger role in American politics. With the line between private and public faith becoming increasingly blurred, how much should religion matter when electing those politicians who so directly affect our lives?
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Sometimes the best examples are personal. I was raised as a Christian Scientist. I know from first hand experience that members of my faith depended on Christian Scientists in political office to protect certain aspects of the religion. This included an extended copyright protection for the faith’s guide book – Science and Health – and ensuring that the religions stance against medical treatment protected parents who made the choice not to give their children medical care when they were sick.
Fortunately, times are changing, and most states now hold parents legally and criminally accountable for refusing medical treatment for a sick child. Without the faith based protection of Christian Scientists in political office, I believe that change would have occurred much sooner. One champion in Congress for Christian Science was Senator Charles Percy, who rose to the position of Chairman of the powerful U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. How much did religion and faith affect the Senator’s decisions? Only he would know for certain, but I believe that if he was a true follower of the faith he would have let it guide all his decisions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. For many that would be a good thing, but it’s certainly something you should ask and know as a voter.
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