Over the next couple weeks, I will take issues from my platform and further explain my positions. Today, I will discuss my views on church and state.

I am for the separation of Church and State. If clergy were to become state employees, that would be yet another union that AFSCME would represent and soak taxpayers by demanding higher wages. They would all want Sundays off, which would close many houses of worship.

There has to be a separation between church and state.  If the church and the state become intertwined, then the clergy would end up being state employees and unionized.  This would lead to:

• Paying clergy premium pay to work on Sunday.  Some churches are only opened on Sunday.  This will be costly for all churches.
• Breaks in a middle of a sermon.  Not only would a clergy person not be allowed to preach during his or her break, but healing a parishioner during a clergy’s break would be strictly prohibited.
• All religions have holidays.  These holidays would give all clergy holiday pay in addition to regular pay.  Sunday pay and holiday pay for clergy might compel places of worship to increase the tithe rate to 15 or 20%.
• By combining church and state, churches would have to have services for all holidays and not just religious holidays.  Who wants to hear a sermon on Independence Day?
• There will be a huge stigma placed on people who crosses a clergy’s picket line.  Striking clergy will also cause confusion among parishioners.  Will they follow their leader which the Bible says or will they go to church?

Keeping church and state separate  will make worship more affordable and less confusing for parishioners everywhere.