Who has ever been elected in this country on the strength of their Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Pagan or indigenous faith? Politicians are not elected because of, but rather in spite of being Jewish or Muslim or possibly even Catholic. I still remember from my childhood the widespread belief that if John Kennedy, a Catholic, were elected President, he would have to do anything the Pope told him to do!.

In a truly democratic system, religion should not be a barrier to holding public office. Yet I doubt if any out-of-the-broom-closet Pagan--or unapologetic atheist, for that matter—could get elected to any office beyond purely local elections. I would love to be proved wrong.

Voters have the right to know that any candidate is honest, honorable, moral, and will not abuse the public trust and power we invest in her or him. But today’s political campaigns, with all the professions of religiosity, all the sound bites, and talking points, and carefully crafted images, succeed mostly in obscuring our ability to tell if someone is simply a decent human being.

Some politicians are, and for that we should be profoundly grateful. But many—from both parties—seem only too willing to abuse their power, regardless of how many prayer breakfasts they attend or pious comments they make.

I would love to see us change the way we do elections. If I were making the rules, anyone who ran for public office would have to complete a qualifying course that included a week living on the streets with the homeless, a month living on a welfare budget, six months of volunteer work in an inner-city classroom or emergency room or post-disaster cleanup, and an anonymous week in jail.

This would weed out the merely power-hungry and egotistical, and those who become public servants might make laws and policies that embodied the values of compassion, caring and inter-connection that all religions teach.