Sometimes there’s that rare breed of reader who thinks my column is too religious for the editorial page.

Editors make the choice. Of the dozen or so papers that carry my column in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, about half feature it on the editorial page, and the other half in the religion section. I don’t get a vote.

My column is about the intersection of faith and life. For those editors who choose to place it on the editorial page, that is fine. That it appears in some places in the religion section is equally acceptable. That reality, it seems to me, illustrates what “intersection” means.

Occasionally, I get jabbed for violating my own commitment to a separation of church and state. But take note — newspapers are not part of the state. To express a religious opinion about a political matter in a newspaper does not violate the separation clause. What it does demonstrate, in my opinion, is good Christian citizenship.

I have never advocated for a separation of faith from life. In fact, if faith is to have meaning, it must have an impact on the way we live. To call out those who would suborn faith for overt political purposes — such as declaring a particular candidate as God’s choice — is not a threat to separation but a rallying cry for its defense.

The line between responsible Christian citizenship and political partisanship is not hard to define. If I stand in my pulpit and exhort my congregation to vote for whomever, that is a violation of the separation clause. If I use church letterhead to promote a candidate, that represents a violation of what the founders had in mind for our government.

If, on the other hand, I use whatever medium available to advocate for a biblical call to justice, this does not rise to the level of a breach of the wall of separation. It is a time-honored biblical tradition of speaking the truth to power.

People of faith need to bring their beliefs to bear on all matters of public life. People of faith should be informed voters, as well as activists for causes consistent with their faith.

In an ideal world, people of faith also would press for an open and honest political process. Political campaigns marked by vicious attack ads and distortions of truth are fair game for criticism from the faith community. We should be leading the charge insisting that integrity and transparency characterize political contests.

We are, after all, primarily in the truth-telling business.

James L. Evans can be reached at faithmatters@mindspring.com.