Separation of church and state is more about the Pope owning half of Italy and Kings deciding to be their own Pope and less about people voting for a pastor.
Agreed. But a Pastor has already made his priorities known: God first, America second. When push comes to shove and he needs to either represent his electorate or his god in some legislation, who is he going to choose? That right there is my concern with religious officials holding office; they have to betray one or the other of their belief systems to do their daily job.
So we're back to 'murica first!'? filter for X in ['religion', 'shareholders', 'finances', 'influence', 'celebrity', 'special interest group' ...] Once we filter out the flawed candidates we will be left with the one pure, unblemished, sacrificial lamb to send to Washington to save democracy... ------------- I'd argue insider trading and the churn between business/lobbying/legislating are conflicts of interest to fight.God first, America second.
he needs to either represent his electorate or his X in some legislation, who is he going to choose?
Wrong takeaway; electorate first. The entire premise of a representative democracy is that you vote for someone to care for your interests. The interests are - by definition - the democracy first, and all other considerations second. But the religious don't even put the state above their god... so they are already compromised before assuming the role. Hence my worry about them serving in an elected role. So we're back to 'murica first!'?