Pope Francis does the impossible: Gets Republicans to want religion out of politics

[eridani]

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/14/1384684/-Pope-Francis-does-the-impossible-Gets-Republicans-to-want-religion-out-of-politics

hat does it take to make Republicans want to keep religious leaders out of politics? A pope who disagrees with them, apparently. Pope Francis' recognition of a Palestinian state is just the latest of the pontiff's positions that have Republican politicians trying to put him in his place.

“It’s interesting how the Vatican has gotten so political when ultimately the Vatican ought to be working to lead people to Jesus Christ and salvation, and that’s what the Church is supposed to do,” said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), a hawkish defender of Israel.

So ... Republicans get to use religion as a political club, but actual religious leaders should stay the hell out. We've got Texas Republicans trying to block marriage equality from being enacted, whatever the Supreme Court decides. We've got House Republicans passing yet another anti-abortion bill based more on religion than science. We've got an avalanche of bills legalizing discrimination in the name of religious freedom.

Republicans have shown time and time again that they have no problem whatsoever with religion in politics. Now we know how particular they are about whose religion and whose politics.

[LeftishBrit]

1. The equivalent is common enough in the UK...

Mainstream religious leaders in the UK, including most Archbishops of Canterbury, tend to be (gasp!) actually anti-poverty; and this has caused Tory politicians over the years to complain of political interference and generally regard the Church of England, and most other Christian denominations, as a great nuisance. While the religious right is not as strong in most parts of the UK (Northern Ireland is the exception) as in the USA, some of the same right-wingers will complain that the UK has lost its Christian basis and this is preventing us from being socially conservative enough.

See for example this from a few years ago by the exceptionally awful MP Nadine Dorries:

http://blog.dorries.org/id-1859-2011_6_Rowan_Williams.aspx

[merrily]

2. Republicans want contrary views from religious leaders out of politics.

They feel the same about Hollywood stars and musicians who are not on their side.

Religious leaders and celebrities who back them up, however, are just fine with them.

Fortunately for them, they seem to feel no need to make their statements consistent with each other and members of their base don't seem to require consistency from them or from each other, either. So, it all works for them.

As long as none of the morans gets a brain, that is.

[octoberlib]

3. Their corporate masters are the

ones pushing religion . They started recruiting ministers back in the '40's to preach free market ideology and that the New Deal was 'sinful paganism' . Until the Pope convinces the Chamber of Commerce , I don't see it going away entirely.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. Whatever.

Yay Pope Francis!

I'd love to see him preform the miracle of getting homophobia out of religion. Maybe he should remind them of his stance on gays.

[octoberlib]

5. /\THIS/\

[Wilms]

6. ^

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Then how do you explain Boehner inviting Francis to address Congress? And what about this from Nov:

Vatican Strengthens Ties with Evangelicals and Mormons Against Gay Marriage
"In a month when papal conversation about marriage has been all the rage, the Vatican is enlisting a new set of allies to support its commitment to marriage between a man and a woman: American evangelicals and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This week the Vatican hosted a three-day, international, interreligious colloquium called Humanum, “The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium.” Its goal was to “propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman.” Speakers came from nearly two dozen countries and a variety of religious traditions, including Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Taoists.

The presence of American evangelicals and the LDS Church was particularly notable. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, and Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, each gave speeches, and representatives from the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council in Washington attended. President Henry Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ first presidency spoke and Elder Tom Perry of the LDS’s Quorum of the Twelve also joined. In the United States, this trio of faiths has worked together to stand against the government’s Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, but it was the first time they were coming together at the Vatican to talk about marriage."

Note the presence of Family Research Council, employer of Josh Duggar. Pope Francis gave the Keynote Speech, which along with many photos can be seen here:
At Marriage Meeting With US Anti-Gay Leaders, Pope Decries 'Spiritual Devastation' Of New Morality
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/at_traditional_marriage_conference_pope_francis_speaks_to_u_s_anti_hay_groups

I look forward to reading your views on all of this. If Republicans don't like Francis, why do they keep inviting him to DC and also attending his events in Rome? You tell me. I look forward to it.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Francis is anti abortion, and favors 'religious freedom laws' while opposing marriage equality and

other LGBT rights. Most of Francis' views are shared by the Republican Party. Pretending otherwise is an affectation disguising a bigoted agenda.

[MisterP]

9. well, I recall the Santa Fe Committee wanting Catholicism out of Latin America's

more rabid political structure: now, they didn't mention a certain archbishop by name but everyone knew who they were talking about

[nakocal]

10. Republicans are NOT defenders of Israel

There is NOT a single republican who is a defender of Israel. What they are defending are the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who only has the support of about 1/3 of his own country.