In an interview with the website Vocativ, former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum explained (again) that he really doesn’t understand the causes he fights so vehemently against:

The movie argues that the observant are being forced to practice in private, for few hours in church on Sundays. But on a personal level, can’t you observe your religion wherever you want? Not necessarily. You can’t pray in school, but it’s good to have prayer. Are people offended by prayer? Sure. But the constitution gives us the right to offend. There are a lot of things today in America that offend me.

Since when can’t you pray in school? I support the rights of students who want to pray in school. So do the ACLU and FFRF and other church/state separation groups.

What those groups combat is school-sponsored prayer, like a teacher leading a prayer in the classroom, or a football coach praying to Jesus before a big game, or a principal praying to God during graduation.

But it’s much easier to play victim when you make up all the facts.

You also have to appreciate the complete turn of phrase Santorum uses on another question:

So what about the Quran? Should that be taught in school, too? I would absolutely encourage more teaching about Islam. Maybe 50 years ago, when Islam had third-world status and not international status—maybe that was different. But given what’s going on, it’s important to teach it.

The question was whether we should teach the Koran in school just as Santorum wants to teach the Bible. But he spins that into: We should teach students about Islam.

You know what? He’s right about that. It’s important to understand Islam because it affects so much of what’s happening in the world right now. And you also need to have a proper understanding of Christianity to make sense of American politics and society.

But teaching about the major beliefs is very different than preaching a very specific belief.

Santorum, no doubt, would oppose teaching the Koran in the same way he wants the Bible to be taught.

The reason he granted Vocativ the interview was to promote his new movie One Generation Away, about how Christianity is that close to extinction because religious rights are constantly being eroded.

His own words prove that there’s nothing to worry about. If he has to make up evidence to justify the movie’s premise, it’s an indication that this is just a fake problem to begin with.

(via Right Wing Watch. Image via Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com)



