Should religion and politics be mixed?

No, they are separated for excellent reasons. You need look no further than Iran for why "mixing" them is a bad idea. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing.

Scooterpoop: Politicians are free to express their religious views, they just aren't allowed to legislate from a particular religious platform.

Yes and that is a scary thought. Bachmann and Perry are both Christian Reconstructions who have some wild ideas, such as capital punishment for gays, not only that, they said that biblical law should be imposed even on nonbelievers.

The Catholic church used governments to stamp out native religions all over Europe and the world and the governments in returned had the authority of the church behind them, effectively being sanctioned by God. The American Revolution was the tipping point; this is why we have separation of church and state.

It already is. When preachers start telling the congregation who they should support from the pulpit religion has become a huge part of politics.

The "separation of church and state" issue has gone way too far in the wrong direction. The founding fathers never intended to exclude religion from political thought. They just wanted to prevent the government from forming their own church like they had with the Church of England.

The law was never intended to keep Christmas decorations off the Elementary school lawn but that's what it has come down to in today's world.

Republicans are generally conservative and hold faith as an important part of their life. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact a morally conservative president is something we should all hope for.

Never. People are free to practice whatever religion they choose, but to bring their particular brand of god-talk into our government and our laws is something nobody should tolerate. The country today is primarily christian, but I wonder how those christians would feel if the majority was muslim and wanted to insert their beliefs into our laws. Better to keep it separate. The republicans won't be happy until they can force their beliefs on the rest of us.

No. Anywhere Religion and Politics have been intertwined has become a ruined country. Just look at a place like the Philippines or Mexico.

I'd say it's not possible for a religious person to not mix his religion with his politics, but politicians should refrain from crass displays of pandering religiosity. *cough Rick Perry cough*

The old testament requires followers to KILL gays, women who are raped inside the city, children who curse their parents, people who work on the sabbath, unmarried women who aren't virgins(but not men), 10% of all your livestock, people who have sex with animals, people of other religions, children who strike their parents and people who claim they can see the future or divine other truths.

Do you think we should base laws on these things?

You are what you are and you can't separate them. Religion plays a big part in our lives.

Liberals hid what they really are, and they fool mean of the people. That's the only way they can win. They run on ideas that win, but they never carry them out.

Keep liberals out of the WH.

You cannot separate a person's philosophy and character from their governing style. There is a reason that a free country demands moral leaders and why character is the most important factor in choosing a candidate.

Why should it NOT be mixed... For that matter how can it not be mixed? One's religion is an indicator of one's values, ideology, and how they would make decisions. It's part of the decision process in deciding which candidate best reflects the issues that are important to you.