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We have a separation of church and state in our United States Constitution. We would not have the Priest from Holy Rosary running for a government office any more than we should have a minister running to be an elected official of our government.
There is a reason our country has a Constitution with the separation of church and state, and quite frankly we fight wars and people die to uphold the freedom that we have because of the separation of church and state in our Constitution for our government. One does not have to look far to see what happens in other countries (and most know what countries we’re talking about) when religious entities become a part of the government.
People from all over the world wish to come to the United States because of this freedom we have written in our Constitution.
A recent unbiased, non partisan Pew Research Center (Religion and Life) showed that Washington state has 52 percent of people in Washington said they are Christians (Evangelical Protestant 23 percent, Mainline Protestant 10 percent, Black Protestant 1 percent, Catholic 15 percent, Mormon 1 percent, Orthodox Chritian 1 percent, Jehovahs Witness 1 percent, other Christian 1 percent), with Unafilliated 37 percent saying (religious “nones”, Atheist , Agnostic Nothing in particular)…..Don’t know 1 percent, Non Christian Faiths (Jewish, Muslim Buiddhist Hindu Other World Religions 10 percent.
This is not about Diversity. It is about a Constitution we have for our elected government that separates church and state and thereby, PROTECTS the diversity of religious beliefs in our country for everyone.
We do not need a minister or “church planter” as a part of our elected government that is supposed to represent everybody.
To the previous commenter: I have no idea why you have taken up space with your comment, as there is no relevance to the candidate forum to which I am aware. That said, if you don’t believe someone shouldn’t be in an elected office by virtue of their occupation, then don’t vote for them. It’s pretty simple.
The idea behind the separation of church and state was to avoid the institution of a state-run church. It was not to suppress the beliefs of individuals, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, secular humanists, i.e. their religion. The separation of church and state is not the same as separating one’s beliefs from how they may govern. I doubt if any political official can operate at a completely unbiased baseline of thought. If I don’t like the way a candidate thinks, I’ll vote for another candidate, but I will not use the “separation” clause to eliminate a candidate.
I believe there is relevance to a persons occupation when being a candidate for office and when his occupation is a minister or a priest, etc. …….a leader for a religious group
Also, besides the statistics from the Pew Research Center here are a couple more that are important to the future of our city.
“Millenials surpass Gen Xers in the United States labor force. This is the largest labor force since 1957”
“Millenials are getting less affiliated with religion as they get older” according to to the research center.
If this city government becomes one based in a particular religion, we limit who would reasonably want to live here or come here. For Edmonds to grow we need new fresh young people here and a government that serves everyone, not just select groups
In another comment I put the Pew Research Center statistics for Washington regarding the percentages of Christians and non Christians…….almost evenly split
Because of our Constitution we have a separation of church and state.
…….clause from the Constitution: “requiring all federal and state officers to take an oath or affirmation of support to the Constitution”……indicating that the requirement of such a statemennt does not imply any requirement by those so sworn to accept a particular religion or a particular doctrine”
So, I believe that any government officer that would be a minister would because of their occupation be loyal to their religion first.
Unless Ive missed something here, a minister is a leader of a church.
Tere,
ARE any of the Edmonds City Council candidates ministers (or priests, or an Imam, or Rabbi?)
Maybe one of our candidates is a religious spokesman and that is compelling your comment?
Emily
Tere, it’s clear you are doing internet searches about the backgrounds of local candidates. I can’t speak for my opponent, but I can save you some time if you are interested in my faith. I am a non-denominational Christian and am committed to the Christian principles of respect, patience, honesty, humility and inclusiveness. These are qualities, in my view, that are appropriate in a City Council role. I hope you will agree and I look forward to serving you if elected in November.
Maybe some should do some simple research. We all should do that with ALL canididates now. I believe our CIVIC duty. Yes, one cadidate is a degreed minister and a “church planter”. Simple research. One can even see his theology dissertation online where he acquired the degree. Dr. Neill Tibbott referenced online with all the information regarding his mission……and Im not using that word lightly. It appears to me to be his mission…….in my opinion, easy to research…..the pictures match our Mr. Neill Tibbott
Again, we all have a civic duty to be prepared and educated to vote.
Just fell off the Corn Wagon. Did a little research about elected officials and religion. When JFK was elected some said we would take direction form the POPE. Well it took 55 years but it happened this week with the Pope’s speech to Congress. And look at the scary things that he wants us to do…Take care of the poor….Fix immigration… and Do something about Global warming. Radical ideas by the select few will be the end of America as we know it. Got to Go… need to catch up with that Corn Wagon and jump back on.
Tere, I thought the idea of elected office was that the people could choose whomever they prefer. If that person is a minister, so be it. “Separation of church and state” does not the clergy from running for elective office. Members of the clergy are taxpayers and voters, too.
Bruce, you are correct, members of the clergy are taxpayers and voters, who can also run for office. Thank goodness we are in a free society where this can happen, and we are not beheaded for having a different religion, even though there are those who would like to ban a person with religious background from running for office. It has not come to that as yet.