Lewis C. Miller argues that the founding fathers would cringe at the presidential candidates’ voluntary participation in Rick Warren’s forum on faith and politics. Read Kenneth W. Chandler’s Counterpoint. 

Earlier this month, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama participated in Rick Warren’s forum on faith and politics at his Saddleback megachurch in California.

Admittedly, based on the nature and location of the event, the evening could easily devolved into something much worse than what actually transpired. For the most part, Mr. Warren made an effort to portray impartiality and refrained from dismissive and condescending remarks. Senator McCain, although clearly not the darling of the more conservative wing of his party, used concise, crowd-pleasing answers to help ease the worries of some of his skeptics. Whether he was aided by being outside of the much-publicized “cone of silence” is not a matter that has any relativity to this piece.

Despite the fact that the Illinois Democrat held distinctly different opinions on the issues at hand than a majority of the audience members, there was never a sense that the crowd (or Mr. Warren) was attempting to “gang up” on Senator Obama or exploit the opportunity to humiliate him in front of a national audience.

With that said, neither candidate should have agreed to participate in such an affair. The very fact that Senators McCain and Obama voluntarily attended the Saddleback event, effectively a religious litmus test for the potential presidents (with objectionable questions such as “What does it mean to you to trust in Christ?” being posed to the candidates), is an affront to one of the most important founding principles of this nation.

Article Six of the United States Constitution reads that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” I acknowledge that this event was not a government-sanctioned test and therefore no constitutional law was broken; however, the principle behind this significant part of the constitution was blatantly violated by the candidates’ participation.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (which predates the U.S. Bill of Rights by five years) and the originator of the phrase “separation of church and state,” would mourn this violation of constitutional principles and reprimand both Senators for their involvement in the forum.

Granted, many of the questions asked merely skirted on the realm of faith or were indeed more related to matters of judgment than of faith (a prime example being the question, “Who are the three wisest people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on in your administration?”). These questions are entirely relevant and were appropriate to pose to potential leaders of the country.

However, quite a few questions veered into territory wholly inapt for presidential candidates. As Rev. Thomas J. Reese correctly posited in a piece written for On Faith (a joint venture of Newsweek and The Washington Post), “I think some questions are inappropriate when addressed to a candidate. These would be questions about theology or faith that have nothing to do with his role as president: What church do you attend? Are you a born again Christian? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior?” Reese later added, “Faith questions are only relevant and appropriate when they have any impact on how a person would be president and what positions he or she would take on public policy.”

I fully understand that neither candidate could have openly derided the Saddleback event without inflicting a potentially fatal blow to their presidential ambitions. However, I believe that the ever-eloquent Obama could have respectfully declined to attend, releasing a well-crafted, powerful statement based upon the ideals of Mr. Jefferson and the other founding fathers who risked their very necks for the principle of church and state separation.

“I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.” – Thomas Jefferson