Political Scruples

When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and, when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig'd to call for the help of the Civil Power, it is a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.
- Ben Franklin in a letter to Richard Price 9 Oct 1780

But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782

Inasmuch as God was an inextricable part of colonial life, our founding fathers appreciated the importance of keeping religious beliefs outside of the realm of government force. Despite our ever advancing prosperity and scientific knowledge and access to a greater range of historical facts, why has our country seemingly turned its back on their wisdom?

Where are our bold statesmen who will speak out against the slippery slope of using government to force a religious agenda? As students of political science, not to mention Americans, they must know this is wrong.

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