Should Religion even play a part in elections?

Question

With a country such as ours, with so many diverse beliefs do you feel religion should even be brought up by the candidates?

Answer 1

Abosolutely not! Don't people realize how and why this country was founded? Religion has nothing to do with politics and never, ever should! Too bad that isn't reality!

Answer 2

First off a number of people state as usual that the constitution forbids religion while in fact it does not. It does forbid the establishment of any religion. E.I. the church of England. All of the founding fathers of this country held some deep serious spiritual beliefs. Every meeting on the formation of this country started with prayer and most also ended with it.

Personally I would never vote for anyone whom doesn't believe in some kind of higher power.

The original G.W. (George Washington) refereed to him as the Great Creator.

If you want to see an example of keeping religion out of politics check out Vietnam, Thailand, Old Bulgaria or any of the other Ex Soviet dominated countries.

Answer 3

As you've not said what country you're from (I presume it's not North Korea), but in the perfect world of course religion and politics should be seperate. HOWEVER, religion and politics have always been inextricably linked - fundamentally both deal with the structuring of beliefs - and by understanding a candidate's religious beliefs, you often get an understanding of their political allegiances. What is probably more interesting is when a candidate touts a political or religious standpoint that is poorly or conversely reflected in how they conduct their personal lives.

Answer 4

No, I don't think that religion should be a determining factor in politics. However, I feel that morality, ethics and personal integrity are very important issues and should be brought up by the candidates.

Answer 5

It shouldn't but in order to win candidates have to embrace the religious right. I don't think that the rule of religion, which can be very unfair should be the driving force in our elections. But you can see in the current US president, religion can put you over the top, even if you are not the best person for the job.

Answer 6

No. Relgion is supposed to be personal choice, and everyone should respect that. George Bush is the first one to really use religion as a backdrop in his campaign, because he is part of the "Moral majority", and thinks everyone should think and believe as he does. He used it to get votes,and he knows most Christians are also conservatives, so he took advantage, and it worked.

Answer 7

No, because this is a free country, hence the term "Freedom of Religion," and one has to take into account of all religions if they want religion to play a part in politics.

Answer 8

Absolutely it plays a part. You see most jews, christians, muslims, etc can respect eachother's religious beliefs. Atheists have no respect for any formal religion.

Even on here, you can tell who the atheist responses are from. They ridicule formal religion publicly. They want it removed from all aspects of public life. They want to teach our children that there is no valid religion.

I prefer to have a president or representative that will at least respect religious beliefs of their constituents. I don't care if the next president is Muslim, Jew, Christian, Buddist, etc. I will never vote for an atheist.

Answer 9

Yes there is no logical basis for private morality outside of religion. People may disagree but they are wrong. Moralization from secular sources does not stand up to rationalization except among the extremely paranoid.

Answer 10

It does for me. I want a president that believes in God and practices his religion. I don't want someone who goes along with anything just to get votes. That's why this country is in the shape it's in now. Our past presidents worried more about votes than what was right.