Government?

Do you think the government should be more secular in their decision makings, or should religion be integrated with the government, meaning they have a voice in how a country should be run?

Religion and politics should not mix. My reasoning? Honor killings should not be legal! The slaughter of homosexuals should not be legal!

Everybody has a voice- they can vote. But once a religion becomes more powerful than the opposition, all Hell would break loose (no pun intended).

Look at the dark ages, if you'd like.

Separate. If you want a theocracy, try Iran or Somalia.

Why should religion stay out of government? Because nobody has a monopoly on the truth. What might seem "ethical" or "moral" to me might not mean the same thing to my neighbor. I don't have a right to decide what is in his best interest any more than you do. Government should refrain from doing "bad"; and not be responsible for deciding what is "good".

In a democratic process where the people have a voice then you will never take religion out of the process as long as people are religious and get their morals and values, in part, from religion.

Everyone votes according to their morals and values. How in the world can you separate religion from gvt unless you pass some ridiculous law stating religious people cant vote?

I like how it is in the US. Specific rights are guaranteed as a citizen of the country. Then local gvts and communities can vote, based on majority or representative vote on smaller local issues any way they want as long as they dont violate those rights specifically guaranteed by the Constitution.

The problem is some people assume rights that do not exist in the Constitution and so they complain when the majority doesnt vote their way on state and local issues. They cry foul and claim the "religious" people are imposing their religious values. Well, what makes a value religious? Is a value or moral only legit if its based in something other than religion?

People need to read the Constitution again. Nowhere does it say that if a person votes based on a value system rooted in their religion then its unconstitutional.

Here is an example

If the majority of people dont want alcohol in their city because they think alcohol is wrong then they can vote to make it illegal or pass very strict restrictions on it. There is no right in the Constitution that guarentees the right that all people should be able to drink if they want. If the majority votes it illegal, then its illegal in that city and if you want to drink then move to a city or state where it is legal or fight to change peoples mind on the issue. This is how our system works and I like the seperation of federal vs local powers because it allows us to have a diversity of communities based on peoples diff preferences. At the same time we all have specific rights secured so that no single community can step all over anyones guarenteed rights.

Well, this country was founded as a Christian nation. Both Washington and Madison were quoted several times as saying such.

That being said, I don't think the population should be held to the Christian standard legally. Meaning sinning would be a criminal offense.

Rather, I think as long as no laws are passed that keep Christians from practicing what we need to do, that's as much as we need.

well, religious people work in the government, so religion already has a voice in how it is run.

Here in the U.S. for example, you have to swear on a Bible, it says in God we trust on our money, and you can't buy liquor in most states on Sunday. It is pretty well integrated.

Government should be entirely secular.

They make enough mistakes on their own without having to deal with the added handicap of a warped philosophy.

Government should remain secular, we are not a theocracy. Having said that, religious people can certainly express their opinion.