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| Yes | 60% | 2165 votes | Total: 3610 votes | |
| No | 40% | 1445 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesRegardless of your religion and background, there are certain faith based elements in all of us that are as deeply ingrained as the way we speak or walk. They may have been acquired through religious training or from association with a particular person in our childhood. However we got them, they influence every decision we make in life, including our vote. And, when we choose to ignore them, they represent that annoying little voice called our conscience.
They may be as basic as the Ten Commandments, or as complicated as the precepts of a particular religion, but without some sense of belief, the structure that we build a government on is gone. Like it or not, politically correct or not, the same tried and true concepts that most religions rely on are the basis of a governmental system that maintains freedom and respect for it's citizens. You may regulate the rule of the separation of state, and any one particular religious group, but, since men voted on the Constitution of our country, even that very important document is full of their faith and values.
Recent events in formerly Communist countries show that, in spite of the oppression of faith and individual moral beliefs, once the yoke was lifted, the people openly expressed their faith. And, once fear was gone, voted, based on their values.
Probably 90% of the issues we vote on, we consider merely a matter of practicality. Do we want a particular tax in our area? Do we need that new road or school or hospital? We certainly don't vote to increase our taxes because we want to part with more money. So, like it or not, we find ourselves voting on our sense of responsibility to our neighbors, and our community.
No other vote puts our own conscience and faith to the test as much as when we elect public officials. And, at no other time in our history have our convictions been put so openly to the test. Never before in history have we been so conflicted between our faith, and what is considered to be modern 21st century thinking, and political correctness.
It is natural that we lean toward a candidate that most closely represents the ideals that we hold, and, we look for this in their campaign promises and their background. We are going to vote for someone who will uphold our principals and values, and we only hope that they fulfill their promise and endure.
If history has taught us anything, it's that when a country ignores, undermines, and bans the moral and ethical faith-based values of the majority of it's citizens, it does not last long.
Learn more about this author, Lenna Gonya.
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No
The founding fathers of the United States of America were very adamant regarding their position for the separation of church and state. The First Amendment alone contains two separate clauses that together make very clear their collective view that no religion should ever have a foothold in the United States' government. Although quizzically, they placed many seemingly contradictory mentions of the mythological being of the Judeo-Christian faith known as "God" throughout the documents which were to shape this nation. This strange coincidence begs the question, "Should one's faith play ANY role when it comes to governing this country?"
While most, if not all, of the founding fathers of the United States of America were self-professed "men of God," all of them understood the dangers involved when religion infiltrates government. Almost every religious group in this country today are all staunch supporters of the separation of church and state, and have been since the beginning. Imagine if the U.S. government were to adopt Islam as the state-sponsored religion! If you are a believer in the Judeo-Christian faith, you might have just shuddered a little after reading that last sentence. Now you know how the "losers" feel when a government adopts a state-sponsored religion: terrified and oppressed.
While religions seem to offer positive moral guidance to those who would believe, there are many examples throughout the history of mankind of religious "morals" gone wrong. Followers of Islam most likely find the morals presented in Wicca to be immoral. Followers of Hinduism probably find some morals presented in Christianity to be blasphemous. When dealing with religious morals, there really does not seem to be any universal "right" way to live, nor does there seem to be any universally accepted "wrong" way to live. What seems perfectly acceptable behaviour to you might seem sacrilegious to the person standing next to you. Even what is thought of in the majority of religions throughout the world as the "ultimate" sin, murder, has been and still is perfectly acceptable in, and even glorified by, some religions.
I firmly believe that it is important to leave your religious beliefs at the door when going to the polls. We have, over the past eight years in America, seen the result of doing the opposite of that. President George W. Bush, who claims to be a Christian, received most of his votes from so-called Christians who expected him to inject their specific brand of religious "morals" into the policies of this great nation, and look how that turned out! Has gay marriage been banned? Has abortion been banned? Are schoolchildren across the U.S. no longer taught evolution in science class, and forced to pray instead? None of these things have come to pass since "Dubyah's" "election" in 2000, despite all of them being supposed major goals of the entire Bush administration and the majority of those who voted for him.
Luckily for the U.S. government AND religion, religious faith has not completely infiltrated the United States government yet. If American voters continue to allow their faith to determine whom they will vote for, I believe that this country will be doomed to failure. I believe that the reason why this country was so great for the first 200 years is because we were able to, for the most part, keep religion out of government. There are many indicators that this country is fast becoming something less than a beacon of hope throughout the world. I think most of the underlying problems contributing to that trend can be attributed to our inability to keep one of our (the American citizens) oldest and most sacred pacts with our government: the complete separation of church and state.
Learn more about this author, Mike Hanson.
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