The fact that religion, policy and politics are inevitably engaged in our country, however, does not mean that they should be engaged indiscriminately. Indiscriminate engagement would do great violence to our cherished national commitment to religious freedom, for example, by permitting a majority faith to seize the reigns of political power and to use that power to coerce those outside the faith to fall in line with majority beliefs and practices. Furthermore, while legal rules are necessary to protect national values, legal
rules alone are insufficient to guard against many of the dangers that arise in this area.
When religion and politics intersect, there is a tendency, for example, for religion to be
transformed from a spiritual force committed to non-political principles and
methodologies to simply another earthly political power. Thus, this intersection must be
mediated not only by law, but also by ethical and religious principles. [    ]

Clearly, the risks for moral and spiritual integrity in this realm are great. Prayers and
religious pronouncements in political settings often reek of false piety. Clergy have been
known to pull prophetic punches and dumb down theology in order to curry favor with
particular political powers. Religious people sometimes hurl verbal hand grenades in
public policy debates, calling those who dare to disagree "sinners" or "heretics." In
almost every political campaign, someone insinuates that a person cannot be a good
American if he or she is not a Christian or is not personally religious. Similarly, faith can
become nothing more than a thin veneer for nationalism. Another pitfall for religion in
its engagement in politics and policy is the common tendency of people to defend a
politician they like when he talks about his faith, but argue that it somehow crosses a line
when a politician they dislike says essentially the same thing. Likewise, many have been
tempted to argue that it is okay for religion to inform policies they favor, but that it
something different entirely when religion informs policies they oppose. In short, one
doesn't have to be politically savvy to recognize that false piety, venality, hypocrisy andacrimony tend to rush into the space where religion, policy and politics mix unless they are conscientiously restrained. [   ]

The following is a modest effort to describe a few such standards. It should be noted that these standards are not aimed at political success, but rather at ethical and religious integrity. First, religious individuals and communities should care more about being faithful than about being powerful. The point of politics is to gain power over the machinery of government. The point of religion is, broadly stated, to live life according to spiritual
principles. When these two vastly different systems intersect, religious people often find
themselves tempted to play by political rather than religious rules. Religious people must
resist this temptation. People of faith should not tweak their policy positions or the language they use to please political powers. Further, religious leaders must always bear in mind that their primary obligation is to speak truth to power, even if it means losing political access and status. Indeed, it is particularly clear that political parties do not operate on spiritual principles, and religious institutions need to remember that too close an identification with them is bound to undermine religious missions. Religious people also must swim against the tide by refusing to participate in the politics of personal destruction and by applying codes of
conduct in this area evenhandedly rather than selectively. Moreover, everyone who talks
about religion in public should search his or her conscience for true motives, and refrain
from performing this task for others.

Second, as religious individuals and communities, we should remember that we are
"God's servants," not his "spokespeople. " Representative Barbara Jordan offered this
wise advice to those who speak of religion in the public square: "You would do well to
pursue your cause with vigor, while remembering that you are a servant of God, not a spokesperson for God . . . and remembering that God might well choose to bless an opposing point of view for reasons that have not been revealed to you."32 This is not a call for moral relativism or an attempt to require abandonment of claims of exclusive
religious truth. Instead, it is an encouragement for all to express their views with humility and respect. [   ]

We also should call on our leaders to refrain from suggesting that American policies and programs are part of God's will, in part because this tends to create the dangerous impression that this country has a religious mission and that that mission is unassailable. While all elected officials bear these responsibilities, our presidents carry a special burden because they are the only leaders who represent the entire nation, both at home and abroad.