Source: The Indianapolis Star
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050717/OPINION/507170312/1002/OPINION
On July 17, 2005 The Indianapolis Star ran an opinion piece featuring the opinions of four American religious leaders regarding faith in the public square. Carol Johnston of the Christian Theological Seminary states, "We believe that if more faith communities encouraged... public social discourse, instead of leaving it to politicized debates that emphasize winning and losing for one side or another, the common good would be better served." Mark A. Noll weighs in on the argument that America is a historically Christian nation. "Moral conservatives have made a solid historical point. It is time they worked as hard at promoting a moral politics good for all Americans as they have labored to sustain grievances about the past." Richard Garnett argues that faith should not be restricted to the private sphere. "The Constitution protects our right to keep faith private. It does not, however, require us to privatize our faith before entering into the public square or taking up the responsibilities of citizenship." Dennis C. Sasso says, "The future success of our democracy resides significantly in our ability to promote religious freedom and at the same time preserve the sacredness of the separation of church and state enshrined in our Bill of Rights."