I was reading Romney: President needs prayers of people of all faiths and was pleased to see Romney was quoted as saying “religious tolerance would be a shallow principle, indeed, if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.” I would expect, given that statement, he would be more open minded about religious views and be more, I don’t know, tolerant. It’s clear that he isn’t and doesn’t, though.

Romney said religion is essential to freedom, without pointing to any specific faith.
“Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone,” the GOP contender said.

I’m sure Romney doesn’t get the irony that religion is in diametric opposition to freedom. Besides being demonstrably incorrect, this statement paints a pretty intolerant portrait. Perhaps being an unfree atheist is a step in the right direction. It wasn’t long ago that Bush said “I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”  Religious freedom indeed.

Tags: atheism, politics, religion

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