Religion should stand outside the state’s affairs

4/6/16


The relation between religion and politics always plays an important theme in political philosophy, despite the emergent consensus on the right to freedom of conscience and on the need for some sort of separation between religion and state.
Religion is a cultural system of behaviors and practices, world views, sacred texts, holy places, ethics, and societal organization that relate humanity to what an anthropologist has called "an order of existence". Different religions may contain various elements, ranging from "the belief in spiritual beings", the "divine", "sacred things", "faith", a "supernatural being or supernatural beings" such as angels, or "...some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life.
Politics is the process of making uniform decisions applying to all members of a group. It also involves the use of power by one person to affect the behavior of another person. More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance — organized control over a human community, particularly a state. Furthermore, politics is the study or practice of the distribution of power and resources within a given community (a usually hierarchically organized population) as well as the interrelationship(s) between communities. It is very often said that politics is about power. A political system is a framework which defines acceptable political methods within a given society. History of political thought can be traced back to early antiquity, with seminal works such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics and the works of Confucius.
I think religion and state should be kept a particular separation, especially in administrative works and law-makings. Religion is to be kept separate from government so that law-makers are not enacting laws based on their mystical, unsound beliefs. Your moral mandates that come from religion are fine for you personally, and they are fine for everybody else who follows your religion. But imposing them on people who do not share your religion is infringing on their religious freedom. Laws that cannot be justified in a secular manner should remain limited to your religious beliefs and not imposed on others who don't share those religious beliefs.
It’s obvious in many countries that religion and politics should not be mixed. Here in India it is a common feeling of the educated gentry. Usually such people are afraid that if politicians subscribe to a particular religion, they will oppress followers of other religions. There have been examples of such oppression and atrocities in the past where a ruling party crushed or ostracized members of a religion not followed by them. There are also some states that are religious and do not favor citizens practicing other religions. This is understood to be the chief cause of fear in the minds of people who support keeping religion and politics separate.
John Locke, a famous expert, expressed his ideas in:  A letter concerning Toleration (1689), tends to speak more about the ‘difference’ between the ‘Church and the State. Locke was ‘concerned with religious freedom’ and believed that the biggest threat to citizens would be if the state starting talking about religion (Chavura, 2010:39). It is evident from Locke’s letter that he did not accept the notion that the church and state or religion and politics should be one entity. In fact he wanted them to be as separate as possible so no religious force or power in government could rule the citizens’. If there was no religious force then everyone religious or non-religious could enjoy the same rights as everyone else.
In relation to Islamic countries, even though Islamic liberals claim that there is a divide of religion and politics, in the current climate it is clear to see that religion is not separated from politics and sharia law is still as practiced as it was when first insinuated. However, generally from the ideas of many key liberals who spoke about the separation of religion and politics were concerned with the idea of religious freedom. Nonetheless they put forward a strong argument for the separation of religion and politics and many Western countries today abide by this notion.
          In Vietnam, on legal aspect, Vietnamese government is non-religion political system. But the Party and State of Vietnam protect religious freedom of many religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai,… However, many religious dignitaries and followers have abused this right to carry out their sabotage activities against the country. So, we need to classify a separation for those individuals like priests Nguyen Van Ly, Nguyen Thai Hop and other religious dignitaries to understand religion and politics more, and do not interfere with the administrative affairs. Let the government do its business./.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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All comments [ 10 ]


yobro yobro 4/6/16 20:35

Many times I read that religion and politics should be kept separate. They should not be mixed.

Socialist Society 4/6/16 20:38

By now many of us are familiar with the right-wing argument that religion and government are inextricably intertwined, that the two have always mixed and can never be completely separated. However, a group of legal experts at a recent forum have criticized this assumption as a myth

Me Too! 4/6/16 20:39

Because not everyone shares your faith, and it’s a politician’s responsibility to represent their constituents.

For A Peace World 4/6/16 20:42

It’s important because conversation is a necessary component for discussion and democracy, and you can’t have a conversation with someone if you don’t speak the same language.

Vietnam Love 4/6/16 20:44

One reason for the importance of this topic is that religions often make strong claims on people’s allegiance, and universal religions make these claims on all people, rather than just a particular community.

Red Star 4/6/16 20:46

It is probably inevitable that religious commitments will sometimes come into conflict with the demands of politics.

LawrenceSamuels 4/6/16 20:47

Conflicts concerning religion and politics arise outside of curricular contexts, as well. For example, in France, a law was recently passed that made it illegal for students to wear clothing and adornments that are explicitly associated with a religion.

John Smith 4/6/16 20:49

If liberty of conscience includes not simply a right to believe what one chooses, but also to give public expression to that belief, then it seems that people should be free to wear clothing consistent with their religious beliefs.

Voice of people 4/6/16 20:52

Yeah, these matters should stay separated!

Gentle Moon 4/6/16 20:54

I don't believe Nguyen Van Ly. Nguyen Thai Hop are a true religious dignitaries.

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