One of the biggest issues that continues to divide the American people is over religion and what role it should play in government. After a judge in Florida ordered that a cross be removed from a local park, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee decided to speak out.
Huckabee on Fox News
When it comes to religion, the issue can be a touchy subject among many people, especially when it intertwines with politics.
For Republicans, many take pride in their faith, with Christianity serving as the corner stone that helps shape their political beliefs. Last year, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit on behalf of a small group of people in Pensacola county Florida arguing that a cross at a local park should be removed. Two versions of the cross have been put on display since the first was erected back in 1941, receiving little to no push back until the aforementioned lawsuit. Following the judge's order to remove the cross, backlash from the conservative Christian community resulted, with high-profiled names speaking out in opposition to the decision.
As seen during a June 20 segment on Fox News, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was not happy with what took place.
Joining Fox News for an interview on Tuesday night was Mike Huckabee as the former governor didn't hold back his thoughts on the Pensacola cross being removed from a local park. "It's absurd!" Huckabee said. "Four people. Four people in Pensacola said they had a problem with this," he continued, before noting, "Thousands of people have enjoyed the fact that it is there."
"This is one of those irrational decisions of the court," Mike Huckabee continued, while adding, "I think the judge felt he was in a box on it." "If this cross is somehow offensive to the point that some people can't even go by there without feeling overwhelmed with religion, then tell me when are you going to take all the crosses down in Arlington Cemetery?" he rhetorically asked.
"It's absurd," Mike Huckabee repeated. "We are a nation that has freedom of religion, not freedom from religion," he claimed, while concluding, "it's not that they are offended, they just can't stand that some people believe in God."
Moving forward
While the cross might be coming down in Pensacola, the battle over the role of religion in government doesn't look to be ending anytime soon. With Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in majority control of Congress, conservatives appear to have the edge on a federal level, even if they lost a battle in the Sunshine State.