A telling exchange from yesterday’s edition of Meet the Press:
Chuck Todd: “Should a President’s faith matter?”
Ben Carson: “Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem.”
Chuck Todd: “So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution?”
Ben Carson: “No, I don’t, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”
If Dr. Carson were familiar with his copy of the U.S. Constitution, he would know that the only mention of religion therein strictly prohibits making adherence to any one religion a qualification for holding office.
…all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
Perhaps, though, I am being uncharitable. Maybe Dr. Carson is thinking specifically of political Islam, that is, the notion that the Muslim faith should guide all social and political decision making. If so, then of course he is correct. Any attempt to bend secular law to a specific holy book is incompatible with the secular government described by the Constitution.
This goes for Christianity no less than any other faith, naturally.
When asked (on an earlier episode of Meet the Press) whether the Bible holds authority over the Constitution, Ben Carson failed to give the obvious correct answer. This indicates, at least to me, that he lacks a robust understanding of why our Founders chose to separate political and ecclesiastical authority in the first place. Which in turn explains why he did not see any problem with promulgating his own religious test for public office.
Until Carson and his fellow contenders for high office come to understand that America was founded as a democracy, not a theocracy, they are going to continue blurring the lines between faith and policy, just as the Islamists would have us do. If I was a praying man, I’d petition all the gods to help them stop.
