It is remarkable to me how far Utah’s citizens go to show disrespect for the civil law of the nation and state. One recent example among many is Senator Mike Lee’s blind mistrust of our 245-year-old electoral law and process.   

I think a good part of Utahns’ behavior can be traced to a theology which seems to posit church society as a superior alternative to civil society. Many believe the Kingdom of God is the church and the church alone, and not a combination of entities, such as both church and state. 

This situation recalls the days of the medieval Catholic church when the Pope invited Christians to support his choices for kings and laws throughout Europe. This kind of thinking led to the Reformation and not just separation of church and state, but subordination of church to state.  

Democratic decision-making in the public sphere confers its own rather special and sacred authority. Government represents all of the people, not just those adhering to a particular private religious society. Church societies do not have freedom to disrespect the government that gives them their breath and protects their ongoing freedom of worship. 

Separation of church and state allows each sector of society to promote its own special means of regulating social behavior: the church through soft love and often immediate forgiveness, and the government through tough love and forgiveness only after repentance or correction. When soft love does not work, tough love must come into play. 

Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross

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