One of the foundational principles necessary in the U.S. in order to have a healthy nation is that of the separation of church and state. Lately, it seems that many Americans fail to appreciate why that is so. It’s not that there is anything wrong with the institution of religion, but it is divisive when a given religion claims to be the favored religion to the exclusion of other religions. Religions can also cause conflict when they have lost touch with their foundational principles.
Politics and religion don’t mix according to Gregory Smith of the Pew Research Center. “Smith noted that data seem consistent with the argument made by leading scholars that young adults have turned away from organized religion because they are repulsed by its entanglements with conservative politics.” (1)
What does a healthy religion look like? It’s time we became clear about that and then we can also have a better chance of understanding which principles are needed to create a healthy nation. “Another truth of the utmost importance to us today is that the great religions are not contradictory or antagonistic in themselves. Only man makes them so.” (2)
Click on the link below to see what a healthy religion would look like.
Insight # 167:
Lust, Greed, Fear, Envy and Hate
Long made us Desolate.
Their reign is done.
Race, Color, Creed and Caste,
Fade with the Nightmare Past,
Man wakes to learn at last,
All Life is One!
Dr. Bhagavan Das (2)
Link:
- Buddhism on this blog and in print in The ABC’s of Simple Reality: The Encyclopedia of Self-Transformation, Vol I (2018), pages 58-60, by Roy Charles Henry.
References:
- Kristof, Nicholas. “Less and Less a Christian Nation.” The New York Times Sunday Review. October 27, 2019, page 9.
- Forman, Henry James and Roland Gammon. Truth is One. New York: Harper, 1954, pages 6, 7.
