Kennedy on Religious Liberty

The separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president, should he be Catholic, how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote…”  — John F. Kennedy 

Some are guilty of treating the comma following the word “absolute” as though it was a period.  If the statement stopped there, I would contend that Kennedy had gone too far.  He would have been advocating a society that proscribed the free exercise of one’s religion making it illegal to even discuss religious matters in the public square.  If that is what he meant saying Merry Christmas might be illegal if said outside the home because it would violate an absolute separation doctrine.


This, of course, is not what Kennedy meant.  Look at his quote in context.  He was a Catholic running for President.  He wanted to assure nervous voters that he would be his own man and that the Pope, nor any other church official, would dictate how his administration would operate.  In that sense, church and state must be absolutely separate.   Kennedy is clearly rejecting the Massachusetts Bay Puritan model that required unity between church and state.  In that society, the promotion of separate spheres was enough to have you banished (see Roger Williams).  Memo to former Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum: having the church involved in the “operation” of government is the exact opposite of what Kennedy is proposing here.  It’s a very Puritan idea you have promoted. 


I also appreciate the last part of Kennedy’s statement.  A person who enters a church for an experience of worship should not be subjected to political speeches and the promotion of certain candidates from the pulpit.  One should not be made to feel uncomfortable in a pew of a church due to their political persuasion.  Church and worship are about a kingdom not of this world.  Any discomfort should be from the prick of the Spirit as it moves us and woos us toward that kingdom and nothing more.  Many today, need to rediscover Kennedy’s axiom.