The other day when I was driving to TJ MAXX, I heard an announcer on a Christian radio station say that "a lot of people don't want to read what's in the Bible, so God catches their eyes in a different way -- with bumper stickers!"

That's not an exact quote, but it's pretty darn close, because I pulled over immediately and wrote the words down before I forgot them.

That's how astonished I was by this bit of information!

Then I spent the rest of the day looking at bumper stickers in my neighborhood to see (possibly) what was on God's mind.

Here's what I learned:

WE ARE THE WHALES, YOU ARE THE WALRUS



MY KID IS AN HONOR STUDENT AT PEDRO'S TACOS

And speaking of "honor students":

MY BORDER COLLIE IS SMARTER THAN YOUR HONOR STUDENT

I also picked up a few tips on what to do the next time I drive my car somewhere:

SHARE THE ROAD

START SEEING MOTORCYCLES

And then, of course, there were the classic Avenues standbys:

PROTECT WILD UTAH!

VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS

OK, I don't know how you feel about it, but I'm pretty sure that God didn't have anything to do with those bumper stickers.

My recent experience of looking for spiritual enlightenment on my neighbors' fenders, however, leads me to ask the following question: Am I the only regular church-going Believer in America who wishes everyone would just stop talking about religion in public?

Or at least dial down the rhetoric?

Please understand. I am grateful to the core for my right as a citizen of the United States to worship how I choose.

And I'm equally grateful that I can (and do!) have heartfelt conversations with trusted individuals about sacred matters.

But there's a huge part of me that feels like a lot of folks in the public eye these days talk about God and faith as a way to both (a) rally the troops and (b) define, as well as demonize, the enemy.

Q: Who's the enemy?

A: Anybody who disagrees with you!

I could be wrong, of course. But I do feel like public figures across the political and social spectrum have cynically appropriated the topic of faith for their own purposes.

Even those individuals whose motives may be entirely pure make me tired -- especially when they say things like "If Jesus were here today, I know he would (fill in the blank)."

I am ALWAYS uncomfortable when people start putting words in God's mouth, especially since those same words invariably support what an individual already thinks or feels.

For example, I never hear someone say, "I personally believe separating out my garbage (ew!) is a waste of time, but I know the Lord wants me to save the planet by recycling my empty aluminum cans."

Here's the deal: I want our public personalities to have strong moral convictions -- even if they differ from mine. But it would be refreshing if they went to a place where actions speak louder (way, way louder!) than words.

E-mail: acannon@desnews.com