Tearing Down the Wall Between Church and State

Former NBA star, U.S. senator, and presidential candidate Bill Bradley was perhaps the only person in national elections history to have the courage to stand up for the separation between Church and State the framers of our Constitution were wise enough to incorporate in that document. When asked about his religion on the campaign trail, Bradley responded: "My religion is none of your business."

While historical revisionists of every conservative ilk and stripe -- and especially those wackos down in Texas -- now attempt to say America was founded as a Christian nation, the fact is George Washington (similar to many other of our nation's founders) was a Deist; and Thomas Jefferson didn't profess any religious convictions at all.

Indeed, one of America's founding principles was "freedom from religion." Too many people in Europe had been persecuted for their religious beliefs (or lack of them) so America was to be a place where no one had to kiss the rings of popes, priests or preachers. People could worship any way they chose to, or not worship at all ... without fear of repercussion, censure or opprobrium. But, alas, that is changing.

Over 30 years ago the Christian religious right began mounting disingenuous campaigns to institute religious litmus tests to candidates for high or low office: Under their rubric Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists -- or anyone else who does not accept and profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior need not apply. And these same folks have the nerve to call those of other faiths who live in other countries "religious extremists."

Now black folks are (albeit belatedly) getting into this undemocratic and un-American act. At the "2010 Faith and Values Candidate Forum" held May 19 at the Mt. Zion Fine Arts Center (which is a part of the Mt. Zion Church in Oakwood Village) the focus wasn't on how competent potential candidates for the new County Council might be in governance, but was more along the lines of that age-old question black folks often accusingly ask each other: "What Church you go to?"

If that question isn't answered correctly the chances of a candidate garnering any votes in gatherings such as the one held at Mt. Zion are nil. You might be a Christian, but not the "right kind of Christian." On the other hand, a black candidate who knows how to play to the black Christian crowd by pretending they are a black preacher -- with the appropriate religious-sounding shouting, whooping and hollering -- is a sure bet to win the vote of constituencies that are easily fooled. They don't have to say anything of substance, or even make any sense, just as long as they got the right black preacher cadence.

And let them break out in cheap, polyester Mack-daddy preacher suit (preferably chartreuse, purple, or lavender in color) and their vote count can go up by as much as 10 percentage points.

Never mind that the individual might not know diddley-squat about government policy, finance, social service delivery, infrastructure or economic development ... they still can win a seat on the new County Council because too many blacks are politically unsophisticated and are willing to vote these religious con artists into office.

And once these shysters win a seat on the Council the astute white folks will graciously allow these latter-day minstrels to open the sessions by leading off with a prayer, and then immediately go and sit their ignorant asses down while the political grownups handle the real business of county government. And then we black folks wonder why we always come up with the short end of the stick when the political pie is divided up. And when we do come up short, what do we do? Pray over it.

Upon arrival at the "Faith and Values Candidate Forum" at Mt. Zion candidates were told that they would be given questions to answer. There was some discussion by the moderator as to whether the questions would be given before the speakers would be called to the platform, or would the question be sprung on them while the stood at the podium. Fortunately for the candidates it was ultimately decided the questions would be passed out before hand.

Queries ranged from "Explain your faith journey" to "Tell us about your religious experience." All that was missing was the infamous rack that was used during the Inquisition. During those "interviews" if you gave a "wrong" answer you risked being stretched until your limbs cracked. However, in this case virtually all of the candidates made up some answers they thought the audience and inquisitors wanted to hear.

One candidate, who has extensive experience in municipal finance (and would bring a wealth of information to the council on the subject), was forced to stand up and address -- not the importance of his experience in municipal finance -- but the fact that he had somewhat fallen away as a Catholic because he only occasionally goes to Mass. His admission made little difference with this crowd of Baptists, who, in most cases, were not about to vote for a Catholic ... even if he was super qualified and went to Mass everyday and twice on Sunday. But, of course, they would never fess up to their religious bigotry and intolerance.

When asked the question of whether or not she preferred a candidate who was religious, former Municipal Court Judge C. Ellen Connally, a candidate for County Council District 9, pointed out that, based on that test, Abraham Lincoln would not have been elected, since, while he read the Bible, he did not attend a particular church. She asserted that in our form of government, candidates are elected based on their qualifications not their church attendance. "The issue," she said, "is whether the candidate meets the statutory requirement to run for office, and, secondly, do they have the intellectual and educational back ground and experience to be a good elected official?"

Indeed, the contests are for seats on the County Council, not to be the head of a church, and just as Christians would not approve of non-members influencing the election of their leaders, lovers of democracy are just as upset when the Church attempts to control what should be secular politics. Perhaps the IRS should take a look at the questions asked at the Forum and determine if any of the rules prohibiting non-profit organizations from engaging in political activity were violated by Mt. Zion -- lest they turn our democracy into a theocracy.

Mayor Jackson Can't Seem to Win

When Frank Jackson seemed to not get it in terms of reaching out to people from other parts of the world I was one of his critics; now that he is reaching out and trying to make a deal to bring jobs to Cleveland via a deal with a Chinese LED lighting manufacturer, he is still being criticized. This deal may not be perfect, but think of it this way: It could open the door to many other such deals with foreign investors. The potential for 350 new jobs for Clevelanders is simply too great to ignore ... or to allow naysayers to kill the deal.

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier's From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.frombehindthewall.com.