Open Letter to Rick Santorum

Mr. Santorum, you are correct; Judeo-Christian values were central in the founding of the United States. From the Declaration of Independence, to the individual writings of the founding fathers, this is abundantly clear. In his writings, Tocqueville noted that while the formal separation of church was a vital aspect of the new republic, Christian faith and liberty  "were intimately united" and "reigned in common over the same country." He believed that in the United States, "the safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of laws, as well as the surest pledge of freedom." And those familiar with American History are aware that the crusade to abolition slavery and expand civil rights were primarily driven by people of faith.

But, for various reasons, I am concerned about your highly religious rhetoric. Nowhere in the writings of the founding fathers do we encounter sentiments that politicians and the state must propagate faith and virtue. They must form and flourish in the womb of civil society, in families, churches and charities. Those who seek to nourish religious sentiments and institutions through the state, will foster the corruption and the dependency of the church. Regarding your focus on contentious social issues; the 10th Amendment dictates that issues like gay marriage and abortion are not the concern of the federal government, rather they are under the jurisdiction of states and communities. Thus, you are fostering the centralization of power that most conservatives criticize President Obama for.

Let your faith continue to guide your private and public decisions, because the constitution grants us freedom of, not freedom from religion. But, be aware that the surest defense of religious liberty is not a strong central government that intervenes in social life, but the system of limited government and federalism established by our constitution. And we ask that you have faith that America's rich Judeo-Christian traditions will continue to flourish without the help of the state and without your campaign rhetoric. G-d and good sense be with you.