Periodically during our nation's history, Americans have leaned heavily on their religious values as the basis for addressing political issues of the day. Sometimes this was for the good, as seen in the abolitionist movement of the 1850's and the progressive era of the early 20th Century, both of which had a strong religious base.

But at times we have seen some religious leaders and lay-folk support the not-so-good: Prohibition came about with the strong support of Christian fundamentalists (among others), and the pro-slavery argument was spear-headed by conservatives who used their Biblical interpretations to justify the holding of slaves..

In a country that honors the right of everyone to worship as they see fit, it is incumbent that we not let our personal religious beliefs result in actions that infringe on other Americans' rights. In recent years, we have seen a resurgence of religious conservatives (whether Christian, Jewish, or Islamic) becoming involved with political issues. Unfortunately, their viewpoint too often comes with a "God is on my side" mentality, which results in those folks trying to force their personal religious beliefs on the rest of us.

Consequently, we thought it would be worthwhile to remind everyone of how leading Democrats and mainstream Republicans over the years have viewed religion and the First Amendment, and how their reading of the Bible has influenced their politics.

We'll add to this column as we have the time, but for now here are some good starters:

Lyndon B. Johnson

"Come, … let us reason together."

President Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) liked to quote this passage from Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) because it epitomized his approach to politics. When Johnson was Senate Majority Leader during the 1950's, he worked closely with the Eisenhower administration and the Republican Congressional leaders on many issues, most notably the interstate highway system, the creation of NASA, statehood bills for Alaska and Hawaii, and promoting a bi-partisan foreign policy. As President during the mid-1960's, LBJ worked closely with the Republican leadership in the Congress to pass the Civil Rights legislation of that era.

(LBJ signing bi-partisan legislation; image from thinkprogress.org)

Of course, that was a time when the GOP was led by people who put the country first, and weren't being held hostage by the Grover Nordquists of the world. Today's GOP is filled with too many far-right ideologues who think compromise is a four-letter word and would rather see the country suffer than follow the advice of Isaiah and work with the Democrats to come up with common sense solutions on issues that need to be addressed.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

At his first inauguration, Franklin Roosevelt had his family's old Dutch Bible open to this verse, found in 1 Corinthians 13:13, as he took the oath of office. Such symbolism was not lost on Americans in 1933. After 12 years of conservative GOP economic policies, the country was buried in the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in our nations' history: over 25% of the urban workforce was unemployed and the farm economy was just as bad off.

(FDR inauguration image from history.com)

Progressive Republicans couldn't budge their conservative brethren in the Hoover administration to be charitable to those Americans who, through no fault of their own, couldn't find work, were losing their farms and their homes, couldn't feed their families, etc. Most Republicans learned from that mistake and for many decades supported assistance for those who were down on their luck during economic downturns. Unfortunately, today's Tea Party extremists would fit nicely back in Hoover's GOP of the Great Depression.

John F. Kennedy

As a Catholic, John Kennedy faced religious bigotry that is hard to believe today. As late as 1960, many conservative Protestants still were so prejudiced against Catholics that they would accuse Catholic politicians of putting the wishes of the Pope ahead of the best interests of the United States. As a candidate, Kennedy was no exception to this narrow-minded treatment and, consequently, during his bid for the Presidency in 1960, Kennedy's opponents tried to use his religion as a campaign issue.

In order to address this so-called "religious" issue, Kennedy spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, a group of Protestant ministers, in September of 1960. In his speech, Kennedy presented his views on religion in public life, described his interpretation of the First Amendment, and discussed how he would make decisions if elected. The following excerpts from that speech still make sense to us today and are worth re-hearing periodically:

"…contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me."

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote - where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference - and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish - where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source - where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials - and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.

For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew - or a Quaker - or a Unitarian - or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim - but tomorrow it may be you - until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril."

"…I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation nor imposed by the nation upon him as a condition of holding that office."

"This is the kind of America I believe in - and this is the kind I fought for in the South Pacific, and the kind my brother died for in Europe. No one suggested then that we may have a "divided loyalty", that we did "not believe in liberty", or that we belonged to a disloyal group that threatened the 'freedoms for which our forefathers died.'"

"Whatever issue may come before me as president - on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling, or any other subject - I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise."

It's always a treat to listen to JFK, whether he is talking off the cuff or delivering a major address. For those of you who would like to hear JFK deliver this speech, it can be found easily on YouTube.

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