Religion seems to be getting more and more important in American politics. Candidates are often asked what their religious beliefs are and politicians often refer to their religious beliefs in speeches. Is this appropriate? Should we be hearing so much about politicians' religion like this or should religion instead be ignored as a generally irrelevant issue?
Secularists argue that personal religious beliefs should not be part of public policies or political campaigns. Christians, both liberal and conservative, have pushed back forcefully to insist that it's appropriate for voters to demand statements of religious faith from politicians. They say it's fair to ask a politician about their religious faith and for politicians to base their policies, agendas, and laws on their religious faith.
There are good reasons to dispute this, even from a Christian perspective. If a person has to make a big deal about their religion in public, one has to question whether their "faith and values" are genuine or merely adopted for public consumption. When does talking about faith become pandering to the faithful, and how much damage does it do to religion?
Furthermore, public discussion of religion contradicts the principle that public policy should be based on ideas and values that can be defended by impersonal reason, not personal religious beliefs derived from spiritual revelations only accepted by some. Perhaps that is why politicians are loathe to get into specifics when they proclaim their public piety.
I Just watched some political commentary on the news last night talking about Huckabee–and saying he’s becoming a growing challenge for the GOP candidate. It took me a few minutes to remember why that name was familiar: It was “I don’t believe in Evolution” Huckabee.
A few minutes into the analysis, someone mentioned that he is mainly backed by the evangelicals.
The idea that religion _isn’t_ a serious consideration in American politics is becoming harder to support. When a nobody candidate can actually be considered significant–because he gets religious voter backing. That’s saying something.
I just watched Lewis Black last night. One of his comments was about people who doubt evolution. He said when he encounters them, he holds up a fossil, and says, “Fossil.” He says if they still don’t get the point, he throws it at them–”just over their heads.”
He said that someone once told him that fossils are Satan’s handiwork. He said that if you don’t believe in evolution, then he has a problem with you, since evolution plays a major role in the tapestry he “likes to refer to as–REALITY!”
Does Huckabee even know what evolution means? More importantly–if he becomes president one day…will he evolve?
….And tracie, remember how Huckabee is the one whose big goal it is to improve the science and math education of our kids in this country. He should start with himself by setting a good example regarding evolution before lamenting about the kids. Huckabee scares me, too.
Thomas Paine: Age of reason: Chapter one part one. Written during the French revolution. Something like this? Huckabee is a preacher is he not?
[It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and, in order to qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive anything more destructive to morality than this?]
People seem to focus on the fundanazis, Papists, and Islamists. What about the Neocons and the Jewish lobby?
[What about the Neocons and the Jewish lobby?]
Yup! Them too!
Apparently, Huckabee is running to become the “Pastor of the US” considering the group that backs him. A few months ago, another person writing comments on this forum pointed out that Huckabee did some questionable activities while governor of Arkanas. One of them apparently involved funneling money for non-public use.
A difficult poll to answer… yes, I believe there is too much religion in politics (any is too much)… but, we must know what beliefs guide a person running for office so we know what decisions we might expect were they elected… we can’t expect them to eschew their beliefs in favor of what is good for the country once they attain office… so, I think it’s better to get it out in the open up front…
… and what have we learned from experience… good morals are often inversely proportionate to a persons religious fervor…
Religious people seem to be obsessed withe the pro life movement more because their numbers are dwindling and they attribute the dwindling memership to fewer new births and slack morals . Not because Christianity is scandal ridden from financial scandals to sexual child abuse scandals, to intraclergy sex abuse cases to clergy congregant love affairs and the membership is tired of it and moving on to greener pastures. Listening to Catholics and evangelicals is like listenig to recovering addicts or alcoholics sharing in a twelve step programs. The guilt and shame is so intense they become super christian , super conservative and super in your private business. They tranform them selves in their mind from victimizer to victim and redeem their souls by saving everybody in their path whether we want to be saved or not. They screwed up but they want us to pay and pay dearly for crimes we did not commit. people are not running to atheism. They are running away from kicked in the head Christianity. If you don’t believe me watch Pat Robertson for ten minutes and then go to a twelve step program and you will turn atheist too.
I think that history makes it clear that when religious people try to get their fellow religionists in public office, they are looking for favored treatment for their religion. Once they get favored treatment, they use it to persecute all other religions (or lack thereof.)
I live in the U.K. so I don’t have a full grasp of American politics, but are the politicians really as dumb as they seam to be or do they dumb down to win votes?
“Are American politicians really a dumb as they seem?”
An emphatic. NO!
The American electorate is as dumb and the politicians seem.