U.S. politicians tend to give at least some respect to religious faith, usually trying to make only general religious statements in an effort to steer clear of controversy.
But Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has gotten into precisely that sort of controversy.
Speaking at a gathering in Michigan, Romney said of the Obama administration, “Unfortunately, possibly because of the people the president hangs around with, and their agenda, their secular agenda — they have fought against religion.”
Though the administration quickly fired back against Romney, who is a Mormon, the president’s words and actions have at a minimum fostered a perception of hostility toward the religious beliefs of many Americans.
The administration recently ruled that under ObamaCare, even religiously affiliated schools, hospitals and charities would be forced to provide birth control as part of the medical insurance plans they offer to employees. That infuriated many Catholic-affiliated groups in particular because the Catholic Church teaches against contraception. But you need not be Catholic to see that the order directly threatened their freedom of religion by requiring them to fund something that violates their beliefs.