There has always been a bit of a tenuous relationship between politics, law and spirituality. On one side of the fence, some groups religiously chant the phrase ’separation of church and state’ and on the other side, secular spiritualists advocate the importance of unifying spiritual values. The Barack Obama inuguration video clips below from conversative Pastor Rick Warren’s invocation and openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson’s invocation demonstrate how Obama believes in the importance of a unifying spirituality. It also shows that in spite of all the different viewpoints on what role religion should play in government, spiritual values remain a fundamental bedrock of America.
America was founded on such spiritual principles without endorsing a particular organized religion. For example, the Declaration of Independence states:
“…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the the pursuit of Happiness…”
These spiritual qualities of Life, equality, freedom and happiness originating from a Creator are beliefs present in all the major religions. President Obama and past Presidents try to instill (some more successfully than others) these principles into their policy decisions. During his inauguration Obama called upon two spiritual leaders –who have strong disagreements on certain issues– to help guide him and the country by incorporating fundamental spiritual truths into his decision making process and official government proceedings.
You can watch the video from Rev. Rick Warren’s invocation at the inauguration and Bishop Gene Robinson’s invocation at the “We Are One” inauguration concert at
http://www.spiritualmediablog.com/2009/01/21/barack-obama-inauguration-video-a-spiritual-event/.
PS
(I did not mean to submit this blog 3 times. I am still learning how to use some of the functions here on Intent and inadvertantly hit submit 3 times. Sorry for any confusion)
I just saw a cartoon today of St. Peter greeting someone new at Heaven's gate. There is a sign: "Welcome to Heaven. Please keep your religion to yourself." I think this says a lot.
Religion is between an individual and his/her heart. It is not anyone else's business. That is why it is so volatile. Religion is personal, emotional and truly a spiritual matter. As such it is not going to be the same for every individual. Where we run into trouble is in trying to make the spiritual "carved in stone". This is obviously impossible. You cannot make something material out of something ethereal. And it will not be possible to make everyone believe the same thing without getting rid of all but one human being.