Lt. Gov. Beckwith Talks Mixing Faith with Official Role

“My faith is my identity.”

Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith joined the Hammer and Nigel show to discuss his recent (now deleted) post about helping 40,000 Haitian refugees seek asylum in Indiana. The initial post sparked outrage among Hoosier Republicans and raised questions about how the lieutenant governor uses his role.

Beckwith claims the post was “totally misconstrued and out of context.” He did recognize that the post was “poorly worded.” Beckwith says he was not advocating for immigrants to come to the Hoosier state but rather pointing out that they are already here. He met with local pastors to explain that it is their responsibility to help the community and not expect “handouts” from the government.

Hammer mentioned that many people have raised concerns about Lt. Gov. Beckwith, who is also a pastor, sharing faith-based views within a political role. This brought up the debate of separation of church and state.

“My faith is my identity… Why do I have to sacrifice my faith, check my identity at the door?” Beckwith says that there is no definitive law against using your faith in government. “Show me in the constitution where it says ‘separation of church in state.’ You can’t.”

According to Freedom Forum, “The words “separation of church and state” do not appear in the U.S. Constitution, but the concept is enshrined in the very first freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Known as the establishment clause, the opening lines of the First Amendment prohibit the government from creating an official religion or favoring one religion (or nonreligion) over another.”

Hammer points out how this is a gray area for voters which is why so many Republicans were upset with Beckwith’s original post.

Listen to the full conversation with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith:

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