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Rolling Cyber Debate Question for John Hagelin from October 15, 2000
From Web White & Blue (http://www.webwhiteblue.org)

Question:
With religious diversity increasing, what are your thoughts on the protection of religious freedom and the separation of church and state? Should religions like Wicca be banned from recognition by the military, as some legislators suggest?
Submitted from Amber from San Diego, California, via Yahoo!

Answer:
I would uphold a strict separation between "church" and "state": i.e., the government should not espouse or promote any specific doctrine or faith. Nor should any faith be denied recognition. However, while upholding the separation of church and state, I believe that spiirituality and ethics, in their broadest sense, must have a key role in politics. If politics is the mechanism through which we collectively choose what kind of a nation we seek to create, then if politics is not informed by our highest, commonly shared moral and ethical principles, what is it? Unfortunately, it is what it has, in fact, become: government to the highest bidder. My Natural Law Party/Independent Coalition candidacy is to restore the highest ethical principles to government and, as important, through effective education that fully develops the mind, body, and emotions, to revitalize America from the inside out.

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