The news of the day is full of loud, messy intersections between religion and politics.
Roman Catholic bishops go to court to resist the birth control provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Muslims in Dearborn, Mich., lobby successfully for accommodations on student-led prayer in public schools. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives declares 2012 the “Year of the Bible.”
Mothers who still warn their children not to talk religion or politics in polite company may be wasting their breath. Yet the debates that turn on people’s religious freedom and government’s regard (or disregard) for faith are worth having in a society that must balance assorted rights.