Just a quick thought. I was in a discussion recently with a guy living outside the US who lamented the fact that we doesn't have any separation of church and state.

That baffled me because we do (at least the last time I checked.) The United States doesn't have and has never had an official state religion. The government doesn't run the churches and the churches don't run the government.

"But you have a Fundamentalist President," he said.

I get his point, kind of. I can see how, from an outsider's perspective having a president with strong ties to the Religious Right could look like no separation. I don't agree, but I understand the concern.

I don't agree because the Religious Right has never managed to pass any of the major legislation it wants on issues like abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, or the teaching of evolution in public schools. While it is a political force to be reckoned with, the Religious Right is clearly not in control.

This is a nation where a candidate with strong religious convictions can be elected. But I don't think that is a bad thing. A devout Christian (or Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, etc.) is not automatically going to be a bad political leader. In fact that person's faith can go a long way to keeping him or her aware of the issues of justice, compassion and honesty that a leader must have.

Of course a quick scam of prominent American religious leaders is a good indicator that strong faith is not any guarantee of a good leader. Sad but true. A candidate must be chosen on strengths and weaknesses, not based on what religious group he or she belongs to.

There are three candidates right now whose faith is getting a lot of play. Mike Hucakbee is a former Baptist Preacher. Mitt Romney is a member of the Latter Day Saints church (Mormons) and Barak Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ, though strange and irresponsible internet rumors continue to dog him.

(The rumors about Obama that I've seen are:

1) He is ideologically a radical Muslim.

2) He attends a racist African American church with radical Muslim leanings.

Both are malicious nonsense. Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, radical or otherwise.

More info here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

Senator Obama is a devout Christian and a member of Trinity United Church in Chicago. The congregation is mostly African American and celebrates its African heritage, but it is not racist. It has many white members and promotes equality and understanding between all people. It is a Christian congregation and has nothing to do with radical Islam. I can say that with some confidence because the church is a part of the United Church of Christ and I am an ordained minister in that denomination.

There's also more information here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp)

I started this with a friend's observation that a nation with a Fundamentalist President must not have separation of state and religion. He didn't say what might remedy the problem he sees. Short of barring devout religious people from holding office I'm not sure what could. But that would be a terrible solution.

I hope people don't vote against a candidate because he or she is Christian, Mormon, Fundamentalist, United Church of Christ, or Atheist. I hope they look at the candidates records, listen to their ideas, learn about their character and make a decision based on that. The candidate to avoid is the one who would be a BAD PRESIDENT, not the one whose religion we don't care for.