Religion's Proper Place

It's interesting seeing how the media views religion's place in politics. One second a religion can be hailed as paving the way of a brighter future. The next moment they can be condemned for meddling. A prime example of this is found in the recent news in Salt Lake City. The LDS church recently voiced its approval of a new bit of city regulation that would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual preference. The media hailed this as an important step and the church's support added more impetus to the bill's passing. But only a little while before the church was under fire for supporting Proposition 8 in California. In both cases the church voiced its stance on legitimate concerns. In both cases the church got involved in politics. But only in one were they blamed as meddling.
Another example was given by Agrippa in his recent post, the case of Patrick Kennedy and the Catholic church. He was recently barred from taking Communion, and the reason was for some of his political actions. This was viewed as meddling in politics and as undue pressure by the church. Yet the church was acting as it saw right. It voiced its opinion and acted as it had authority to do. Yet it is called interfering.
It would seem that the only position left to religion these days is to voice approbation. As soon as a religion steps up and voices disapproval of someone's political actions or a political movement, it is labeled as meddling and crossing the line. Can they not say their piece as well? Can they not act as they see fit? They are legitimate groups protected by the Constitution of the United States, in the First Amendment, yet they are being seen as a nuisance. You would think more tolerance would be given thinking of how important religion is to so many Americans, how important religion has been in America's history, and how much religions are doing today to improve the quality of life in America, both in their teachings and in their charity given.