comment: >
  
  There is a yuge difference between allowing one's faith to inform one's decision making process and literally codifying religious belief into law. When people cite sep of church and state, they are almost universally referring to the latter.
context: I'd argue there's a perfectly consistent difference.
  In the examples you bring up, Warnock and Biden are saying that their religious views are binding on them: Warnock is a Christian, so Warnock should act with compassion.
  Separation of church and state is brought up when someone attempts to force their religious ethics on others, outside of the agreed-upon functions of the government (e.g. the common welfare and all that stuff).
  Nobody would care if an Evangelical Christian politician, who was gay, said "I'm just going to avoid romance entirely because I believe my faith prohibits homosexuality", which is analogous to Warnock trying to be compassionate because of his faith. >
  
  
  In the examples you bring up, Warnock and Biden are saying that their religious views are binding on them
  
  Except "on them" means "on what they advocate for." They're both representative politicians, which means their actions directly impact the laws that get made.
  Are you telling me that for Sen. Warnock to be motivated by his faith to support a law of universal healthcare because that's consistent with being compassionate that he is not "forcing his views" on the rest of society? I mean all laws force some view on society, so you can't dispute that. Why would it be bad for Sen. Warnock to have a religious motivation for good policy like universal healthcare, even though that would thereby force his religious view on others? >
  
  The government providing a secular service based in part of religious motivations of a politician is very, very different than the government using force to enforce religious rules upon people.
  the government providing healthcare isn't forcing religious views on you.  The government depriving someone of the right to marry, based on the views of a church, is forcing religious law on them.
  there's a fundamental difference here.