While I understand and respect the assertions of Gabriel Stoffa’s recent column, “Don’t let belief in God co-opt your voting decision,” I believe there were some flaws in his, and for that matter, many people’s rationalizations on religion and politics.

Stoffa argued our religious beliefs should not affect American politics, on the basis that our founding fathers laid down a constitution separating religious and government institutions. As such, politicians and voters should not let theology enter into the current discussions on ethics and justice.

I do, to a certain degree, sympathize with this viewpoint. Theocracy restricts freedom of thought and expression, and religious institutions should not be in complete control of the government.

However, completely separating religion from politics is as impossible as separating opinions from politics.

Religion is not simply an identity, like a race or a flag. It is not simply a private ritual performed to make people feel warm and fuzzy, nor is it a community for the sake of a community.

A religion is a belief system that deeply affects our appreciation and rationalization of the world. A religion is a basis for defining, explaining and giving purpose to reality. All world views, “religious” or not, seek that same goal: figuring it all out. Everyone believes something, even if it’s simply the superiority of objectivity and empiricism, and all of our beliefs, whether or not faith in the supernatural is involved, are going to affect our view on morality.

No matter who you are, your views on the origin and meaning of life are going to define your views on marriage, abortion, the death penalty, incarceration, money, health care, immigration, war and the general role of government. That’s going to effect how you vote. There’s no getting around that.

When our founding fathers forbade Congress from making laws regarding the establishment of religion, their purpose was to prevent the government from controlling religious belief and practice. Allowing people to vote based on the morality dictated by the beliefs they already have is not theocracy; it’s democracy. If 60 percent of American citizens believe in a certain moral principle established by a common religious belief, that’s going to inevitably affect legislation. Democracy becomes theocracy when those who disagree with the majority are no longer allowed to voice their disagreement without fear of punishment.

Romney and Obama feeling obligated to share their religious views can be a good way for the average citizen to know if they can trust the moral systems their leaders follow. It’s not theocracy.

When Congress passes laws requiring membership in certain religious institutions or actively silencing those who protest laws that are ethically and philosophically controversial, then we have a problem with the separation of church and state.