Religious Faith and Religious Freedom

       Chapter One on page 13 referenced a much debated topic in the United States and even on a bigger scale, worldwide. This topic is the question of religious tolerance which not only considers how the yearning for religious tolerance brought many settlers to the Americas but what role religion plays in politics today with the reference to how "many Americans are quite comfortable with religion playing an important role in public policy". I believe that this is a very wrong and even dangerous standpoint for American citizens to have.
        Although our country was founded on the puritanical beliefs of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant "WASPs", those religious ideals should not be what guides our country in making decisions. The example the book gives is former President George W. Bush's frequent references to faith receiving a 60% approval rating. This is due to the fact that the wide category of "Christianity" is identifiable by 76-80% of Americans. But, think about if there was an Islamic or Jewish person running for office that had constant references to their religion, they would immediately be reprimanded for their words, just because their religions do not represent the majority belief.
       As much as we would like to believe that in the United States that there is a total separation of church and state there is not. Of course it is not as extreme as it is in some countries like Iraq or Pakistan, but religion and state are present as an unofficial coalition. For example, a family friend of mine that was 80 years old in 2000 when debating whether then candidate George W.Bush should be elected said "He will just cause wars like his father, no good will come of this", I was convinced that he and his wife would not vote for George W. Bush. Later on we asked which way he voted and he said "George W. Bush because my church told me to do it". These kind of atrocities sound rare but in reality actually happen often. That is why the Republican party never neglects to assert their "moral" beliefs while campaigning to ensure that they have church support, and if the churches follow by advocating for a candidate, to some people that voice may be as powerful as the voice of "god" himself.
      Although our constitution prevents us from a church run state, there is no guaranteeing that you can prevent a close unofficial bond between the two, which can then begin to infringe on our liberties.