As I write this we are closing in on the November election of the president of the United States, as well as members of congress and a multitude of state and local officials.  The third clause of Article VI of the United States constitution forbids any religious test for holding public office.  A variety of Test Acts were instituted in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their main purpose was to exclude anyone not a member of the Church of England from holding government office, notably Catholics and other nonconforming Protestants.  The colonial government, in framing the constitution and the first amendments to the constitution, sought to separate the state from the church, keeping the state neutral toward religions.  In theory, a person who is an atheist is qualified to be president.  Likewise, a person of any religion is qualified. 

In reality, however, personal religion has been a hot topic in this election cycle.  It seems some candidates are trying to “out God” each other, or claim their opponent is not the kind of Christian the public should elect.  Also, the uncensored web and an avalanche of emails have kept religion in the forefront of the election.  Many Christians have seemingly forgotten Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness.”  They forward emails containing falsehoods about the religion, the moral stances, or the character of candidates.  It would take only a few minutes on the web for them to verify the truth of emails, but evidently they do not.  I have received numerous such emails from people whom I know to be committed to Christ.

One of the most repeated claims has been that Obama is a Moslem.  Just a little effort on the part of someone would allow them to assure themselves that he is a Christian, and a practicing one.  But what if he was?  On the October 19 broadcast of Meet the Press, former Secretary of State under President Bush, Colin Powell, discussing the upcoming election, touched on the false claim that Obama is a Moslem.   Gratefully, he said in essence, “What if he is?  Does that disqualify him from being president?”  Powell continued by noting that in this country, any child can aspire to one day becoming president, regardless of his religion.  This is what the constitution means when it says that there should be no religious test for holding public office.

In our increasingly pluralistic society, many Christians fear the participation of non Christians in our society and government.  It doesn’t seem to register with them that a Moslem, Hindu, or agnostic can love this country and be as patriotic as them.  In the above mentioned Meet the Press interview, Powell mentions a grieving mother at the headstone of her son.  Her son, a teenager at the time of the 9/11 attacks, as soon as he came of age, enlisted in the military and gave his life in Iraq.  He was a Moslem.  He fought for and gave his life for our country.  Can a Christian be more patriotic than that?

Yes, we want all people to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Yes, we would like to see the billions turn to Jesus.  But religion should never be allowed to divide us as a nation.