Remember the 1960 US election when many Americans declined to vote for JFK strictly because he was a Roman Catholic?

While no fan of Kennedy, I argue that he kept his religion separate from his political responsibilities to the American people.

This has also applied in Canada where almost all PMs in the past 50 years have been Roman Catholic yet several initiatives in such areas as same sex marriage and abortion have been enacted that at the time were anathema to the teachings of the Catholic church but that the PMs involved determined were desired by most Canadians.

Canadian PMs from MacDonald to Trudeau 2.0 have been responsible (and smart enough) to keep their private religious beliefs separate from their public political duties.   

Any PM who breaks this pattern with radical religion-based policy changes will find his term of office to be remarkably short.

Liberal spinning and fear mongering in this regard should be treated with scepticism.

Labels: moderation: safe