Michelle Quist's Jan. 24 column, “Religion and politics don't have to conflict,” contains a serious flaw in logic.
Quist writes that Catholics are overrepresented in the U.S. House of Representatives and Jews are similarly overrepresented in the U.S. House and Senate. Neither the Catholics, at 22 percent of the Senate and 32 percent of the House, nor the Jews — 9 percent and 6 percent, respectively — are anywhere near a majority. The members of these religions must work with other members of their chamber to pass specific legislation.
By contrast, in the Utah Legislature, the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Republican Party alone are a supermajority. All 59 of the House Republicans and 22 of the 23 Senate Republicans are church members. These groups are so large that they can and do pass veto-proof laws without even consulting the Democratic members of the Legislature.
Article I, Section 4 of the Utah Constitution states, “There shall be no union of Church and State, nor shall any church dominate the State or interfere with its functions.”
While there is a de jure separation, there is no such de facto separation. Anyone who thinks otherwise should simply review the numbers.
David R. Zangrilli, Sandy
