Shaftesbury

In our day and age when politicians are often unwilling to say where they stand on religious issues, it is refreshing to hear the words of Lord Shaftesbury who was a Christian politician during the 19th century:

"I think a man's religion, if it is worth anything, should enter into every sphere of life, and rule his conduct in every relation. I have always been -- and, please God, always shall be -- an Evangelical of the Evangelicals, and no biography can represent me that does not fully and emphatically represent my religious views."

People today, of course, would scream "separation of church and state" if they heard these words from one of our politicians. But Shaftesbury is right: there should be no separation of religion and the state.