Chipping Away At Secular Government

 A report published by CNN Politico states that 'religious lobbying in Washington, D.C., has risen to the heavens, climbing almost fivefold in the last 40 years, a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows.'

Politico went on to say, "There were fewer than 40 organizations involved in religious lobbying and advocacy in 1970 – today, there are more than 200 groups, according to Pew. In just the Washington area alone, these groups employ at least 1,000 people, and spend around $390 million a year in an effort to influence public policy."

'An effort to influence public policy', could these be code words for an effort to blur the lines  separating church and state. Is an effort to influence public policy by religious groups another way to chip away at our secular government.

A five fold increase in religious lobbying in the last 40 years could only have come about because of a high return on investment. I wonder if it ties in with an increasingly divided country. I wonder if it has anything to do with a stalemated Congress. I wonder if we are drifting towards the beginnings of a theocracy. A theocracy? Unthinkable! Not when we proclaim " one nation, undivided under God". Not when we swear to tell the truth , the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Not when our currency shouts out  "In God We Trust". Not when we pause in the seventh inning of a ballgame to to bellow out, "God bless America".

I believe in the Freedom of Religion and respect the rights of individuals or groups to worship the God or Gods of their choice. I don't want to see these individuals lobbying or threatening my representatives in pursuit of religious goals. I abhor the progress  the National Rifle Association has had in almost becoming the fourth branch of government as it strives to put a gun in every home. I would dread to see a fifth branch of government spring up from religious lobbying.

In the midst of Campaign 2008, my high primal thinker spouse said, "Theocracy eventually destroys democracy; we should remember this in this country as Campaign 2008 proceeds." The same but more emphatically can be said for Campaign 2012.

 KEEP RELIGION IN PLACES of WORSHIP, NOT IN CONGRESS.