1. We hereby reaffirm our faith in the historic principle of the separation of Church and State as expressed in the Bill of Rights and the constitutional guarantee that a man’s personal faith shall not be a test of his qualification for public office.
2. We reaffirm our conviction that a man must be free to choose his own church and that his personal religious faith shall not be a test of his qualification for public office. Yet, when a public official is inescapably bound by the dogma and demands of his church he cannot consistently separate himself from these. This is especially true when the church maintains a position in open conflict with our established and constituted American pattern of life as specifically related to religious liberty, separation of Church and State, the freedom of conscience in matters related to marriage and the family, the perpetuation of public schools and the prohibition against use of public monies for sectarian purposes.
3. Therefore, the implications of a candidate’s affiliations, including his church, are of concern to the voters in every election. In all cases a public official should be free from sectarian pressures that he may make independent decisions consistent with the rights and privileges of all citizens.
4. We remind every member of every church of this obligation to pray for public officials, to participate in the full democratic process, including the voting, and to seek divine leadership in the selection of those men who guide the destiny of our land in such a time as this.