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| Yes | 60% | 2182 votes | Total: 3635 votes | |
| No | 40% | 1453 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesWe are given the right to vote by the constitution of the United States. With this right comes the responsibility to be active and informed on the issues we feel are important and will affect our lives and the lives of those around us. By voting for or against certain candidates, we are expressing our values and thoughts on who we believe will best lead our nation forward during that person's time in office, whatever that office may be.
Faith is the key component in a person's character and cannot be ignored. I am not talking about a specific faith or religious background although I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe we all have faith in something, whether it is in God or the government, or some other entity. All of us believe that there is something greater to serve or to help as we navigate through this life. By believing in one thing and then voting in a different direction is not only hypocritical, but shows a lack of character and integrity any of us would find disgusting.
All of us should vote based on our core beliefs and how we feel is the best way to move forward as a people. The faith of the person is at the center of those feelings and must influence the voting patterns of the person involved. How can I vote for someone with whom I disagree? This would undermine my own ability to be trusted and show how little I actually believe in my faith and integrity as a person. Also, others would not be able to trust me or take me at my word if I say one thing and do another. This is of a great importance when voting for a candidate.
This discussion has been skewed over the years with the rise of 'spiritual' leaders in the political arena. It is not an issue of polls or one party over the other. When choosing a candidate one must look at his core beliefs and character and whether he can be trusted to make those decisions that must be made when no one is around and looking over his shoulder. This is where the voter's faith comes into play. Can you trust the candidate? Do their core beliefs line up with those you express and live out of on a daily basis? If not, then other issues I believe fall to the side. Integrity and character speak to the heart of an individual and will tell you a lot about the decisions they will make on certain policies. We must stop looking at this from a right vs. left perspective and start viewing it as a heart perspective.
Learn more about this author, Jonathan Webb.
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No
The platform of religion is still part of our politics. Even though there is no definite separation of Church and State as many believes there is, there still is no room for religion in law making.
To go back to the separation of church and state...Jefferson wrote a letter stating those words; it is not in the constitution. The people who set our country up were Protestants, we can't change that now, but we are no longer Puritans in this country. More people are moving away from religion now more than ever, not because it is the cool thing to do, not because of outside evil forces at work, but because we can see how corrupt religion really is. Religion especially that of Christian, has become a business. They lobby politicians to get what they want. They beg their fellow believers for money on their national television shows, telling them that it is God's law to give ten percent of your income to the church. When in fact, there are no laws in the bible which say that Christians have to tithe. Yet at any time of the day you can flip onto one of these shows and see at least ten minutes worth of begging for money.
The political issues that are tied up in faith aren't necessarily spiritual problems and definitely won't have much impact on the salvation of the nation. Things like Abortion, women's rights, gun owner ship, keeping the words "Under God" in the pledge, taking the Ten Commandments off the walls of courthouses...these types of things shouldn't be influenced by faith; it should be ruled by reason.
The big topics like Abortion, if you take the religiousness out of it, it still is killing an unborn baby. Whether that is right or not how does religion help it. It should remain legal; since those who would choose to have one won't make good mothers, because they weren't responsible enough in the first place to not get pregnant. I personally don't believe abortion is right, but that is not because of a religion, I'm an atheist, it is because it is a way to get out of being responsible for their actions. Religious zealots get off on tangents about how those women will burn in hell, frankly I don't care, if there is a hell let'em burn.
The faith of the politicians is pretty much meaningless. They claim to be something just to get voted in. How many people in this country would vote for a Muslim at this point, if they aren't Muslim themselves? My guess would be very few people. I know if there was an Atheist president hopeful I would vote for them. But our choices are usually limited to Protestant posers. These men and some women, claim to be Christian to get the vote, when in fact they are amoral, unethical people who just claim the title Christian. Unfortunately most Christians can't see through that guise, they see that the candidate is Christian and that is all the matters. Heck, for that matter how many Catholics have we had? Two?
I want to know what the candidates I am voting for are going to do. What lobbyist are they succumbing to. What kind of platform are they really running on? What is their baseline agenda? In general I think most voters are uniformed until the day they have to go to the polls. They see a few ads for the candidates, and vote for those who they think are most like themselves. When in fact the ads we see are blatant lies and will in no way be what we are getting. To find out the truth about candidates we need to dig deep, research voting records, bills supported, and what things they wrote and added to bills. We need to know what these politicians are really going to do, not just vote on faith.
Learn more about this author, Jennifer Searle.
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