Religion is a tricky thing, especially on the national level. Most countries are predominantly one religion or another, and the state can maintain a healthy balance between government and religion. Unfortunately, this is not always true. In Nigeria, Amina Lawal, a young woman, was recently convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning because of the strict sharia laws of some Muslim peoples.
The proof of her crime was her 2-year-old daughter Wasila. She claimed that the father of her child was a man who promised to marry her and then left, but he denied fathering the child. His claim was corroborated by three male witnesses, who said that he had never had sex with Lawal. This alone sounds like ridiculous grounds under which to convict someone, yet under sharia law, it is perfectly legal. Fortunately for Lawal, sharia law also contains the opinion that an embryo can gestate for up to five years instead of nine months, which would have allowed Lawal's ex-husband to have fathered the child.
This is the problem with mixing religion with politics. The beliefs of a certain group should never be allowed to decide the fate of a country's people. The state should be completely separate from its religion, as they are two completely different entities. Mixing of the two is just asking for trouble. By creating a government completely devoid of religious influences would be an ideal state because the beliefs would not interfere with doing what is right for the country. But, there are few if any places where this utopian government exists. Even in the United States, which has one of the most admired governmental systems in the world, is overshadowed by Christianity, which is exhibited in places like "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God we trust" on money.
Lawal's case is just one example of the effects of religion on society. In her case, the effects were seen on a governmental level, but there are many effects on the regular societal level as well.
