While Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states that “…no religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” throughout history, there have been those elements in society that have attempted, and sometimes succeeded, in applying that which the Constitution strictly forbids.
In the presidential election of 1800, those elements applied the religious test to Thomas Jefferson in his contest with Aaron Burr solely because Jefferson was a Deist. In 1928, the test was applied to Al Smith because he was a Catholic. In 1960, the test was applied to John Fitzgerald Kennedy because he was also a Catholic. In 2011, these elements, in which a majority of them can be found in the mainstream press, are applying the test to Republican candidates Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.
In the past, the bigots use to wear white hoods and robes. They use to wear Nazi and Communist uniforms and paraphernalia. They use to have shaved heads. That is no longer the case anymore. The bigots now wear suits, ties and dresses and occupy the newsrooms of the mainstream press. These people will attack anyone that professes a belief in a higher being and who is devout to the religion of their choosing. It is disgusting. I wonder how mainstream journalists would feel if I applied the religious test to them when it comes to doing their jobs as journalists? They wouldn’t like it one bit.