Kandiss Taylor, a leading Republican in Georgia, recently stated that she doesn’t have to honor other people’s religions that differ from her own Christian views, while also stating that only Christians should be elected to government.
Taylor is the Republican chair of Georgia’s 1st congressional district. She made these recent comments on her show, titled “Jesus, Guns, & Babies.”
Recent Christian Movements Within the Republican Party
Taylor’s recent statements come after many have pointed out that there have been increasingly Christian movements within the Republican Party as a whole.
Many leading Republicans today have pushed for more Christian religious teachings in public school classrooms, for example. Critics have insinuated that this movement is a Christian nationalist one.
The Constitution and Christianity
Many Republicans have defended their desire to see Christianity in government and in public schools because they state that the country and constitution were founded with Christianity in mind.
Taylor also referenced this point, stating, “The Constitution is founded on common law; common law comes out of the Bible.”
No Separation Between Church and State
Taylor then went on to say that there is no actual way to separate church and state, claiming, “You can’t separate the two,” when talking about the Bible and law.
She added, “The idea behind the whole document was that the church runs the state. The church and we the people. We are the church…and so we run the state. But the state, the government, has no control over the church.”
America Founded With the Christian God in Mind?
Taylor also claimed that the U.S. government doesn’t have to represent all Americans and their religion.
“And everybody is like, ‘Then you gotta let Satanists come in, and you gotta let witches come in, and you’ve gotta let Muslims and Hindus.’ No, no, we don’t. No, we don’t because America is founded on God Almighty, Creator God, Yahweh, Elohim,” Taylor said.
Not Honoring All Religions
The Republican leader additionally stated that she didn’t have to honor other people’s religions.
She claimed, “That is what we’re founded on, and I don’t have to honor your religion. I don’t have to give you ‘freedom’ of religion. Freedom of religion is there for us to worship Jesus. It’s not for you to come force anything else upon me.”
Only Electing Christians to Government
Finally, Taylor then added that only Christians should be able to be elected to government positions.
“We shouldn’t be electing anyone in government—local, state or federal—that is not a Christian. That is how we take back this nation,” she said.
Taylor’s Response
After social media began to light up with Taylor’s comments, the Republican chair responded on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In response to the video circulating online, Taylor wrote on X, “Completely out of context, but I said what I said.”
Republicans Push Christian Religion
In recent years, many analysts have stated that Republicans and conservatives seem to be pushing Christian religion into areas it previously wasn’t.
For example, many Republican-led states have pushed to have aspects of the Christian religion in public school classrooms.
Fighting for Freedom of Religion
Many critics and parents have fought against these maneuvers, as they’ve cited that their constitutional rights to freedom of religion are being violated.
Many parents do not want their children and students to be told about religion by teachers in classrooms. Various church leaders have also come out against this idea.
The Ten Commandments and Bible Lessons
Louisiana recently made national headlines after the state government declared that all public school classrooms in the state were required to have Ten Commandments posters.
Meanwhile, states such as Texas and Oklahoma have floated the idea of pushing Bible lessons in public school classrooms.
Trump’s Ominous Comments
Critics have claimed that former President Donald Trump has fueled the rise of Christian nationalism, especially after he made comments that many took as quite ominous.
When speaking to a crowd of Christians, Trump said that if they voted for him, they’d never have to vote again — echoing previous comments he has made about being a dictator on “day one.”
