My comments on making people who may be religous feel more included in the Democratic Party.
The issue is making those people who are religous but still share the same values as most Democrats feel welcome in the party. It is an issue of party unity and bringing new people into the party who share the same views as us but may feel disinclined to join in because they feel religion and the Democratic Party do not mix.
Why are some people who are religous skiddish about associating with the Democratic Party dispite having more in common with it than the Republican Party. I am not sure and I don't quite understand it, but I would like to see that change.
Asking to help make religous people more welcome in the Democratic Party does mean that skepticism towards religion should be abolished. However, I think it does require a greater degree of tolerance. As in it is appropriate to question a person's religion, but it is another issue to disrespect it and verbally beat it into the ground.
I am not advocating censorship. I am advocating self control. Question their beliefs; Don't belittle them. People are well within their rights to say most anything they want about religion but that doesn't make it a good idea or the best thing for the Party. Many people who are religous share views that are central to the Democratic Party. Let them in. Embrace them.
My view is very similar to the one given by Amy Sullivan in her Political Aims column on The Gadflyer. Excerpt below.
I really don't know how to make this any more clear. There is an enormous difference between asking liberals to be religious (not what I'm doing) and asking them to stop ridiculing religious people. I know you think they're stupid, I know you want to be able to have your fun. But you're painting with such a broad brush that when you make fun of people who pray or find inspiration in religion, you aren't just tarring Bush & Co. You're hitting Hillary Clinton and John Lewis and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jimmy Carter as well. If you're going to criticize Bush's faith -- and I think it's fair game -- do it in an informed way. Otherwise you look intolerant and you make the party seem hostile to religion.
http://gadflyer.com/politicalaims/index.php?Week=200420#292
Some of that has to make sense as it agrees with Sullivan's column; of course it could still be totally off in left field or completely irrelevant.