tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29817490.post6771630646711222023..comments2024-03-27T14:51:36.864-04:00Comments on Lion Lamb Blog -- David Mundy: Come to the Church in the WildwoodDavid Mundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12701933935604438349noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29817490.post-22378732323469906902009-07-13T20:01:13.805-04:002009-07-13T20:01:13.805-04:00Religious conservatives do seem to have a lot of p...Religious conservatives do seem to have a lot of power in American politics, but in practice, the separation between church and state is very strong. I remember moving to Canada and being shocked that Catholic schools were publicly funded. I grew up in a Catholic school and I know my mom doled out a lot of money for tuition. I wondered how public funding for Catholic schools in Canada could be tolerated.<br /><br />Separation of church and state is in the Constitution of the U.S., and there was a time when this was a very important and essential addition to it. It is interesting now to see the influence that religion has on American politics.Deborah Laforethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11580304659548204008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29817490.post-1923685771675354452009-07-05T13:20:57.889-04:002009-07-05T13:20:57.889-04:00Recent polls in the U.S. show that an increasing n...Recent polls in the U.S. show that an increasing number of Americans are willing to list themselves as "religious nones." Pollsters have been surprised at how quickly that percentage has grown. I', always sad to hear about the secularization of our culture, but it's likely that this shift will bring about change.<br /><br />Perhaps religion won't be as important a factor in the States before long, as is already the case in Canada and Europe. John Tory's huge misreading of the sentiments of Ontarians cost him an election and a job.David Mundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12701933935604438349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29817490.post-41401900134584830652009-07-05T06:25:51.499-04:002009-07-05T06:25:51.499-04:00For me, one of the more interesting points of comp...For me, one of the more interesting points of comparison between Canada and the United States are our mutually exclusive attitudes toward the separation of church and state.<br /><br />During election '08, I watched with amusement John McCain's struggle to position himself politically between all of the Republican party's various factions. Mixed in amongst hard-c conservatives, fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and others, was the sizable Christian majority so necessary for winning in any American federal election. McCain's hardest balancing act, in fact, was learning how to appease "the Bible belt" in a way that would not alienate him from the rest of the right. Where McCain chose to worship was as big a factor to some voters as was his views on the economic crisis, or relations with Iran.<br /><br />Compare this kind of appeasement to the negative and quite visceral reaction to John Tory's funding scheme for religious schools during the last Ontario election (a decision which ultimately led to his demise) and you can clearly see the lines of two very different, very polar ways of looking at how (if) church and government can mix.Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04165073681369197527noreply@blogger.com