Republicans Overwhelmingly Support Ignoring the Constitution
What part of the First Amendment, and Article VI of the US Constitution do those polled by a Public Policy Polling survey not get? Oh wait, they’re into ahistorical revisionism and imposing a theocracy, so it must be my mistake.
The poll, the full report of which is here, shows 57% of Republicans think that Christianity should be the official religion.
This poll should be particularly troubling for all Americans, since the nation was founded on religious freedom, and yet the Republican party is actively pandering to those who want to turn that concept on its head. Republican candidates for the Presidency in 2016 are actively courting supporters who want to see the country turned into a theocracy.
First among that list are Mike Huckabee. 94% of his supporters support establishing Christianity as the national religion. Not far behind him are Rick Perry at 83% and Ben Carson at 78%. Even Chris Christie garners 70%. Among self-identified Tea Party members, 58% support establishing Christianity as national religion.
Only 30% of Republicans polled oppose establishing Christianity as a national religion.
Consider this another sign of GOP outreach. The GOP likes to talk about how they’re reaching out to Jews (and other minorities), but their actual conduct is something quite different. They are actively pushing religious beliefs into the public sphere at an alarming rate, and questioning the President’s own religious beliefs is further part of that trend (which again runs up against Article VI):
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and 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.
While the poll used a generic Christianity, there’s no word on which version of Christianity, these people would support. The point being that these people want to impose a religious theocracy, and who cares about the First Amendment, the Constitution, or more than 230 years of traditional separation of church and state.
As an aside, the PPP poll also runs a few correlations, such as comparing those who believe in global warming to those who support establishing Christianity as national religion. And that goes as one would expect (66% don’t believe in global warming, 49% don’t believe in evolution).