{"id":4971,"date":"2011-08-01T03:19:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T07:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=4971"},"modified":"2011-07-31T14:29:31","modified_gmt":"2011-07-31T18:29:31","slug":"chronicle-of-higher-education-exclude-all-devout-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/08\/chronicle-of-higher-education-exclude-all-devout-candidates","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of Higher Education: Exclude all devout candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I propose that it is high time for the electorate to reject anyone who is strenuously devout,” writes David Barash in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s<\/em> on-line blog “Brainstorm.”<\/p>\n

His proposed\u00a0ban would\u00a0include any candidate who is\u00a0a”Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Shinto, Wiccan, or committed fundamentalist practitioner of any other faith or creed.”<\/p>\n

“America\u2019s problem isn\u2019t too much prejudice against overtly religious presidential candidates (e.g., Messrs. Romney and Huntsman, not to mention Christian evangelical evolution-denier Mike Huckabee and the newly-minted \u201cI\u2019m no longer a womanizer\u201d Catholic Newt), but not enough,” writes Barash.<\/p>\n

He notes that ccording to Article VI, paragraph 3 of the U.S. Constitution \u201cno religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Fair enough,” writes Barash. “My own immodest proposal, however, is that we turn this ‘no religious qualification clause’ around and agree that no religiously fundamentalist candidate shall ever be permitted to obtain the office of President of the United States.<\/p>\n

“Why? For one thing, it\u2019s time for politicians to accept responsibility for their actions instead of attributing them to divine advice or counting on supernatural intervention.<\/p>\n

“Haven\u2019t we had enough of the kind of faith-based policy initiatives favored by the previous administration? After all,” asks Barash,\u00a0“George W. Bush claimed that in invading Iraq, he was acting out God\u2019s will: How many more such faith-based disasters must we endure? (And wasn\u2019t 9\/11\u2014a faith-based action if ever there was one\u2014enough?)<\/p>\n

“For another, perhaps the most dangerous attitude for any political leader is the insistence that he or she doesn\u2019t care about this life, being convinced that the real consequences of one\u2019s actions are to be encountered only in the next. Think of the Islamic jihadists who devalue this world in favor of a forthcoming heavenly recompense.<\/p>\n

“Remember James Watt, whose disastrous tenure as Interior Secretary under Ronald Reagan was notable for his claim that America\u2019s natural resources don\u2019t really need careful stewardship since, ‘I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.’<\/p>\n

“And,” notes Barash,\u00a0“don\u2019t forget those who welcome nuclear apocalypse because it would herald the ‘end times.'”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to read Barash’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I propose that it is high time for the electorate to reject anyone who is strenuously devout,” writes David Barash in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s on-line blog “Brainstorm.” His proposed\u00a0ban would\u00a0include any candidate who is\u00a0a”Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Shinto, Wiccan, or committed fundamentalist practitioner of any other faith…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,100,5],"tags":[1256,1257],"class_list":["post-4971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-commentary","category-politics","tag-chronicle-of-higher-education","tag-david-barash"],"yoast_head":"\nChronicle of Higher Education: Exclude all devout candidates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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