Rick Santorum: Separation Of Church And State A Communist Idea, Not An American One
By Brian Tashman | 1 December 2014
Right Wing Watch
(Credit: YouTube / screengrab)
In a conference call with members of right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson's STAND America that was posted online today, former senator Rick Santorum disputed the existence of the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution, dismissing it as a Communist idea that has no place in America.
A listener on the call told Santorum that "a number of the things that the far left, a.k.a. the Democrat [sic] Party, and the president is pushing for and accomplishing actually accomplishes a number of the tenets of 'The Communist Manifesto,' including the amnesty, the elevation of pornography, homosexuality, gay marriage, voter fraud, open borders, mass self-importation of illegal immigrants and things of that nature." The likely presidential candidate replied that "the words 'separation of church and state' is not in the U.S. Constitution, but it was in the constitution of the former Soviet Union. That's where it very, very comfortably sat, not in ours."
Of course, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, among others, referred to the separation of church and state when explaining the amendment which they drafted.
Later in the call, Santorum continued to lecture President Obama on race in America, telling Jackson — who once criticized a desegregation plan as "social engineering" — that Obama harmed race relations and, ironically, failed "to do something transformational."
"When you cavort with Al Sharpton, you certainly aren't into racial reconciliation, that sort of sums it up right there," he said. "You surround yourself with folks who are not healers but dividers, this president has been the divider-in-chief on so many fronts. You had hoped, as you mentioned, Bishop [Jackson], you hoped that on this front it was an opportunity for the president to do something transformational, that he could've been that figure that could've made a real difference in racial reconciliation, could've made a real difference just within the black community and he chose to take a different path, he chose to use it as a wedge issue as opposed to an issue that was one that he said he wanted to accomplish when he was going to heal the country. He has done anything but."
Santorum Vs Separation Of Church And State, JFK Speech
JFK on the Separation of Church and State
Kat May 19, 2020 at 3:21 pm
To be fair, this article is from when Obama was president, so it made sense to be talking about him. Rick Santorum was going to run for president, so he was trying to talk to the people who ended up Trumps base. I despise Trump, but Santorum would be a hard pick as an alternative. Santorum actually believes his vile religious narrative, where Trump believes in nothing but himself.
Michael Ramsey July 1, 2020 at 8:02 pm
Perhaps Santorum should read the Constitution and the Federalist Papers and be required to take an American History course at a legitimate institution of higher learning. Also he should study European history where the concept of separation originated in the Catholic Church.
Brien Doyle July 13, 2020 at 1:53 am
Separation is a common sense idea.
Theocracy is tyranny!
and Americans fought against tyranny in 1776!