Corolinth wrote:
Rorinthas wrote:
The two don't appear to be mutual exclusive. To me prohibiting a pastor, rabbi, imam, yogi, etc from holding office would be "prohibiting the free exceed use thereof" however the freedom from religion foundation and your local Scotus might disagree.
Mike Huckabee is a former pastor and no one challenged his Presidential bid on such grounds.
Those are ministers and priests. The question is not whether the clergy can hold office. Can the deity itself hold office? Could Odin be president? Could Shiva be president?
Put aside, for a moment, that humans could not actually stop such a being from ruling the country. Does the first amendment prohibition against passing laws respecting an establishment of religion also prevent a deity from serving as president, considering every bill signed would be a divine decree?
A law wouldn't establish religion just because it was a divine decree. If Odin decreed that littering were punished by a $50 fine, that would not somehow become establishment of religion just because it was Odin. Odin also wouldn't be a natural-born citizen.
The First Amendment does not serve that purpose; its purpose is to prevent the Congress from passing laws that
establish religion, not ones that happen to be favored for religious reasons (or for that matter, that are signed by divine presidential entities).