Ben Carson, a front-runner among the Republican Party, spoke out on Sunday against a hypothetical Muslim president.

In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Carson stated that he believed Islam is “Inconsistent with the values and principles of America,” in response to a question over whether a presidential candidate’s faith should matter in the minds of voters.

He went on to add that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

The former neurosurgeon’s rhetoric has resonated soundly with conservative voters, largely due to his commitment to his Christian faith. Interestingly enough, though, Carson pushed forward the notion that supporting a candidate because of their religion—in this case his Christianity—is perfectly okay.

Dr. Carson is purposefully characterizing his religion as superior to others within the American justice system.

He did not state that certain parts of Islam are objectionable to American values or that extremism is where he draws the line; he chose to assert that Islam, as a whole, is counter to the workings of American democracy.

That contention is dangerous to his evaluation of the legitimacy of the first amendment. It is a rejection of a person merely on the basis of their religion.

What Carson and conservatives seem to be missing when they display dismay towards a possible Muslim candidate is that a politician, according to the U.S. constitution, should not act on basis of his or her religion regardless of which they affiliate with.

Of course, though, this opens up a new can of worms since nearly every Republican candidate has stands on policy justified by religion. This reality is demonstrated most greatly with the abortion debate.

Personal belief is separate from how a politician should create policy, though. A great example to this rule is Joe Biden, who personally believes abortion is immoral on religious grounds but publicly stands as pro-choice, due to his understanding that it’s undemocratic to legislate based on religion.

Bringing this full-circle, Dr. Carson’s allegation that Islam is contrary to American values is laced with hypocrisy. The greatest opposition to American ideals is intolerance, which is exactly what he’s perpetuating.

A person’s religion is never a problem, be it within public service and government or anywhere else. Problems arise when people act on their religion in areas where it doesn't belong, such as the government.

When Ben Carson holds one religion dominant to another in politics, not only is he being intolerant to Muslim-Americans who currently serve or strive to serve in government, he’s blatantly disregarding the notion of religious freedom.

It’s highly unlikely that voters will ever disregard a politician's faith, especially conservatives; however, citizens are entitled to leadership that does not discriminate.

If Dr. Carson were to be our next elected Commander-in-Chief, would you be comfortable with him disregarding another candidate for office purely on the basis of his or her religion?

To me, that’s textbook bigotry.