Falwell, Robertson, and Miscellaneous nutjobs
Seems that everyone has to court God these days... even John McCain, Sam Brownback, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani. Doesn't this make one miss the days of the Chicago Riots when all America worried about was keeping law and order (or for that matter, a blue dress)? America's attachment to religious politics is the wonder of the rest of the world, especially those who come from not-so-religious countries (France?). As a mainline Protestant Episcopalian and a left of center Republican (yes- we still exist, but we are protected by the Endangered Species Act), I find this appeal to religious leaders to be just as nauseating as always. Why must we look like a Christian version of an Islamic nation? Instead of focusing on serious issues, such as the need to rectify the situation in Iraq, or the dire need for high protective tariffs for the sake of our working classes, we focus on gay marriage and abortion and whatever else Pat Robertson's "red phone" to God happens to cook up. Seems to me there are better things to worry about.
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Literally everything influencing one’s decisions may be involved in the political process. Ergo, religion is an inherent aspect of politics due to religion, or analogous moral compasses, playing a substantial role in shaping people’s behavior, even when it comes to deciding the policies and policy makers under which others must live. Conservative Christians will continue to dominate the GOP presidential candidate pools as long as conservative Christianity is popular in America. If atheism were the most popular religious perspective in the U.S., you can bet that many more candidates would proudly tout their atheist principles. Speaking of which, I’m certain that some of the more aggressively right-wing politicians are actually atheist but do not want to publicly discount the very religion they are using to secure voter blocks.
I am not courting god these days. In fact, on the weekends I seem to be supporting the man downstairs. But, religion and politics do mix in a way that could make or break a persons political carreer. The smart move is to "court" god, and as long as this courting secures the most amount of votes the candidates will follow the median voter.
I Think that religion plays a large role in the everyday lives we lead, whether we consider ourselves to be "religiuos" or not. For example, you don't steal someone backpack in class, thou shall not steal..etc and so on. Or perhaps you are playing a game of some sorts and you pray to god that you will win. That is why I believe that religion is always going to be mixed with politics whether we like it or not. The faction of religion is a BIG DEAL. In terms of agenda setting these issues tend to bounce around during the campaign and then fall short to other seemingly more important things anyways.
Amen. I totally agree with you. I'm a liberal Lutheran Democrat who attends a conservative church, and I have to tell you that's the same question I ask every election cycle. It's one thing to be genuine with your faith. After all, it shapes your perspective. However, to use it as a prop for votes catering to the religious conservative faction is what fries me. It'll happen over and over again and I wouldn't be surprised to hear almost every candidate talk more about their faith than their plan for anything.
Let me clarify my position somewhat. I am not opposed to a religious "faction" being involved in politics. That said I do belive that it is imperative that those factions involved in politics on a large scale not be so narrow that the public interests are endangered. A large group of Christians or Muslims, or whatever else you want to think about here will be more diverse and less ideological than a small group.
I agree with the original posting. Religious issues seem to take away the limelight from so many other important things. Though this country was founded by Christian men, America still has laws seperating Church and State. Kennedy was the first Catholic president and some voters were completely against that while others didn't care what religion their President was. I think that is the healthy attitude. Politics first and religious matters practiced at home.
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