Religion and Politics, Right and Left, Right and Wrong

Bob Krumm posted recently that he would describe himself as "socially conservative," but that he does not think of himself as a religious conservative. That distinction reminded me of my own description of my philosophical viewpoint which I presented to a friend recently: The Oracle is a conservative, a Republican, and an evangelical. I have little use for the religious right.

In the comments to Krumm's post, Sean Braisted and John Hutcheson raised mild protests to Krumm's suggestion that there is a double standard regarding the incursion of religious principles into politics, depending on whether such incursions enter from the left or the right, giving themselves as examples of those who have been willing to criticize Democrats who they thought breached the wall of separation. Both Braisted and Hutcheson are bloggers who value political principles over political ends and gamesmanship, but they should recognize that they are in the minority of vocal pundits on that count. Krumm is a conservative who can be described in the same way. All of us who value principled debate should hope that their tribe will increase.