The ACDP bases its policy decisions on the Bible; Cope is fielding a bishop as their presidential candidate; and Jacob Zuma is campaigning at a church. In a country proud of its secular Constitution, does religion have a place in politics or should the two be kept separate? Ebrahim Moolla and Hadlee Simons go head-to-head…

Ebrahim Moolla reckons that the pulpit is political and attempting to separate the two is a futile exercise...

"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is." So said Mohandas K Gandhi, a man as famed for his political acumen as for his devout religiosity. Words that could very easily have been echoed by King, Tutu, Naude, Boesak and a multitude of other men of the cloth whose call to action rang out far beyond the parish. It is only those who persist in creating a division between the spiritual and secular, reducing God to an isolated figurehead, shackled to the pew and confession booth, the minaret and joss stick, to be wheeled out and gawked at on Sundays (or Saturdays or Fridays) who doubt the intrinsic link between the two.

But God is everywhere, or if you'd rather, everything is full of Gods, including ballot papers and polling stations. The tenets of organised religion are underpinned by political expedients, and churches have always been political organisations (Dutch Reformed, the Vatican, Shi-ite congregations). No surprise there, as politics encompasses all facets of modern life — in many ways, the elections can be seen as a battle between, if not good, then evil and lesser evil.

And God benefits too. Besides having the opportunity to 'minister in a significant way to the leader of the ruling party and his colleagues', the Rhema Church coffers would be teeming and what about having Jacob Zuma endorse Biblical principles? You can't 'buy' that kind of publicity. One can't help but feel those members of the congregation who left, did so because of a personal dislike for Jacob Zuma and not as a principled stand against vote-mongering at the pulpit. How very unChristian. First stones, glass houses and unconditional love aside, JZ's rap sheet remains as blank as his matric certificate.

There is nothing novel or untoward about the practice of electioneering in places of worship. Perhaps a more pressing question would be how the red third of the tripartite alliance feels about it?

Hadlee Simons reckons that mixing politics with religion points a nation in the dangerous direction of strife and disunity…

Kashmir, Jerusalem, Gaza, Northern Ireland, Tibet, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan. All conflict zones. All in the name of religion. Yes, it's quite clear that religion and politics don't mix.

We are fortunate that South Africa is a secular state; with people of different faiths, sexual orientations and races being equally protected by the Constitution — a far cry from many war-torn countries.

Nevertheless, and in part because of our great Constitution, there are always going to be parties falling under certain religious banners. The ACDP and African Muslim Party are but two examples of organisations that align themselves with a particular religion. And you have to ask yourself: what happens if you don't fall into that exclusive club? This would be a contentious issue if these parties had any realistic chance of winning the elections, but as they don't it has never sparked any real debate.

However, the ANC is different, as their slogan "A better life for all" suggests. The ANC is supposed to be the people's party, the all-inclusive party. There is no doubt that it will win the elections and probably with a two-thirds majority, and that is the problem. The ANC has the power to change the Constitution thanks to that majority, the power to change lives for better or for worse. Though the party has a lot of people to please, it is ultimately those closest to the ear that get heard the loudest.

In this case, it would seem that the Rhema Church and ANC president Jacob Zuma are whispering in each others' ears. Cope is guilty of the same thing by courting bishops and ministers in a display of morality. But what makes the ANC and Zuma different to Cope's leaders?

When a leader seeks more ways of controlling the population, he/she turns to religion. By aligning himself/herself to a religion, the leader aligns himself to God as well, in an attempt to beef up his/her image. This is proven in the way the ANC has constantly compared Jacob Zuma to Jesus Christ, to try and make him look like a larger-than-life saviour.

But Zuma is a just another human being and has flaws, big flaws. These flaws are his own moral failings — a man who has sex outside of marriage, despite the fact that he has many wives, isn't really a suitable candidate to deliver a speech in church.

Religion is, by its very nature, exclusive and religious campaigning will not unite a nation. By embracing a religion and running a country according to those exact principles, it is inevitable that conflict will arise, and isn't that what we are trying to avoid in the new South Africa?

Using faith is a powerful tool, and you only need to look at Taliban extremists for proof of what happens when it is used improperly. Another example would be the Apartheid regime using the Bible to justify many laws such as the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Acts. Ultimately, religion should be a private matter, not raped for the sake of a few votes and a higher approval rating.

Who do you agree with? Share your thoughts below…