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Voters fill out ballots at a polling place inside the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (RNS) — The role of religion and politics has always been controversial in America, from its inception to the present day. Many of the original colonies were founded by religious communities looking for a place where they could practice their faith. Sadly, too many of them once established then persecuted those who did not share their faith. Dissenters were seen not only as a threat to their faith but also a threat to their political institutions. A few of the colonies, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Maryland, began with a different vision, one of tolerance. They were fleeing Europe where religious conflicts led to violence and even wars that disrupted political and economic life. They longed for something better. After the U.S. Constitution was written, many demanded the federal government be kept out of religion; the result was the First Amendment, stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” At the beginning, the First Amendment applied only to the federal government, but soon the states (successors […]