The great Irish poet W.B. Yeats is said to have remarked that out of quarrels with ourselves we make poetry. And out of quarrels with others we make politics.

But what he didn't remark at that time was that the two are connected. The quarrels, that is. Our conflicts within ourselves often affect our conflicts with others, and vice versa. And not only do we create poetic expression out of these conflicts but also theological discourse. That's right — theology often comes out of conflict and tension, just like poetry and art.

Now most of us will probably never write a theology book. But all of us know conflict and all of us do theology on a regular basis. We fight our battles with ourselves and others and come to an understanding about how we should be relating to one another. And oftentimes this understanding emerges through the lens of theological reflection.

Some may disagree, but I would argue that all of us are religious. Even the most secular atheist. This is because we all have a foundation upon which we organize our lives and worldviews. This foundation and how we live our lives based on it is our religion. For believers, this foundation is a relationship with the Holy Mystery that is meant to give life to us and to others. For only God gives life, whereas idols bring death.

From this foundation, which is laid by both a community and an individual, we have a spirituality. That is, we have a way of living, which encompasses our entire beings, that comes from this foundation of faith. For Christians, this is the breath of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the hope given us by the Resurrected Christ. It unites us as fully integrated human individuals and as full members of a community.

Since this spirituality is at the core of our lives, it isn't a stretch to say that it echoes in the political realm. Whether we like it or not. And now that the new year is upon us, and a presidential election year at that, we're going to see the connection between spirituality and politics all over the election campaigns. Yes, we rightly have an institutional separation between church and state in this country. Which is for the protection of both. But on a human level it is much more messy. If faith is really the fundamental building block of our lives, then it can't not be involved.

Politicians know this and use it to their advantage. After all, the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President George W. Bush, proclaimed his born-again Christian identity. For better or worse. His election campaigns were famous for bringing in evangelical voters with overtly religious rhetoric. He and his advisers knew the power of religion to motivate people to act.

Like others, they knew that religion and politics aren't fully separate. Which is why faith has already arisen in the presidential primary campaigns. If you don't believe me (or the media's attention to issues such as Mitt Romney's Mormon faith), just look at who won the Iowa caucuses last week. On the Republican side, a former Baptist preacher, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and on the Democratic side, a former community organizer with implicit Christian rhetoric, Sen. Barack Obama. Now there are gaping differences between these two men. But each has been influenced by faith, albeit by different faith communities, and to different degrees the voices of these faith communities emerge in their campaigns and speeches.

On a governmental, institutional level we rightly have a separation between church and state. But on a spiritual, human level we realize that all aspects of our lives are undergirded by a spirituality. That is, an individual and collective relationship with God that holds us accountable for our actions and that provides our default view of the world.

I only write this column to point out reality. And reality is messy. We all agree that there should be no religious litmus tests for public office. And voters should weigh a candidate's record, convictions and character at least as heavily, if not more, than his or her religious affiliation. But religion, faith and spirituality are not fully separate from politics.

Nor can they be. After all, most religions require that their adherents work for the collective well-being. For example, we Roman Catholics have a Social Teaching and have long realized that a person's faith is connected to the larger community and includes ideas like a preferential option for the poor, non-nuclear proliferation and justice for all immigrants. Moreover, we have exemplars such as Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin here in the United States and martyred Salvadoran bishop Oscar Romero abroad, who have reminded us that religion and politics have an intrinsic connection.

I'm sure life might be simpler if we had a clear separation between faith and politics. But we can't divorce the two because we can't be human and not be spiritual. And this connection means that we must make sure that political ideology doesn't run away with our churches and also that our churches don't disconnect from the political sphere. We have to live in this tension, make choices and accept the consequences.

And it also wouldn't hurt to pray. Not necessarily for a specific candidate to be elected. But for God's guidance in how to bring about a more loving, just and hopeful society.

Such a prayer may border on idealism. And it may only be found in poetry at times. But our politics and society need such prayers. And that's a hopeful place for us to start.

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Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. He is married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and makes sure his thoughts make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kevin Considine.