Baptists have historically believed in separation of church and state in this country and beyond. This long held tradition goes back to the beginning of the Baptist movement. So when I hear that Catholic bishops are denying sacraments to politicians based on their political beliefs on abortion, divorce or same sex marriage I cringe. What is even more frightening is that some bishops have said that church members who even vote a certian way should be denied communion.

The Catholic church, like all churches in the United States is a tax free operation. As such, religious bodies should not engage in politics, and manipulation of church members to vote in a certain way. Now I’m not singling out Catholics here, the religious right has long done this. But should they? Should organization that are tax free be able to use their pulpits to influence the political aspect of our nation? Some people believe they should, that in fact religion is called to take such action, out of the concern for the moral fiber of our nation. However, to me this starts to blur the separation of church and state. The imposition of a specific religious belief on the greater population is very dangerous. We only need to look at some Islamic countries to see evidence of this at the extreme.

Minister, priests and church bodies have a right to express opinions. After all, we have freedom of speech in this country. However, when the voice from the pulpit and church to coerce members into voting in a certain fashion, or denying politicians of a certain political belief access to full participation and inclusion in the life of the church, it has gone too far.

Some people who have read some of my columns over the last few months know that I am one who is avidly in support of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the life of our churches and our nation. However, I have also attempted to make it clear that I understand that Baptists, like Americans as a whole, have many different positions on some of the controversial topics in which I have written. I call for tolerance, acceptance and understanding of those different views. In a sense, I think we need to agree to disagree. Trying to force our views of the world on others is what pushes us to the edge, can lead violence, even war.

To some people it would appear my views are a bit on the liberal side. I don’t think being liberal is a bad thing. In fact, as he lived out his life, Christ was very much a liberal. Christ pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable both socially and religiously in his day, time and time again. Christ did not put up walls he tore them down. He sought to include more believers, not put up walls to keep them out.

It seem that the Catholic church and churches in general should be more about including people into the flock than keeping them out. Let us remember that it is about following the teachings of Jesus, not about who breaks the least rules. At last check, I had yet to meet anyone who was entirely sin free. My utopian hope is that the day may someday come when we can see the good in people more than what we, or someone else, determines is bad. Being Christian should be more about understanding, grace and love than it is about perceived purity and conformity.