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| Yes | 60% | 2183 votes | Total: 3637 votes | |
| No | 40% | 1454 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesThe crux to this entire debate, I suspect, lies in the difference between faith and religion.
Certainly, what one believes in should have some influence on the choices in life, including something as secular as voting. The problem arises when members of a certain faith, or should I say religion, will only vote for someone of the same faith.
But let's face it, if you will only vote for someone of the same religion, who am I to say no? I may think you misguided and narrowminded, but ultimately it is your choice. And choice is what the foundation of democracy is built on.
But here I need to distinguish between religion and faith. Religion is organised, an institution, and being organised, tends to dictate what its members should or should not believe in. Faith on the other hand, can be more personal. It is not simply one's relationship with others of the same religion, but more a personal relationship between one and one's believes, or God(s).
It may seem rare perhaps, but one's faith can indeed be in conflict with one's religion. What others tell you about what to believe in - you may not agree. I had a Christian friend who switched churches because her previous one encouraged a practice that she wasn't comfortable with. It wasn't anything sinister except that she felt uncomfortable and somehow that it conflicted with her personal relationship with God. Certainly her new church accepted her for what she is, so I can safely say there was nothing wrong with her at all.
I said it may seem rare, but I suspect that many such cases of such conflicts have turned the religious into atheists and agnostics, but that's neither here nor now.
To go back to faith and voting, it is certainly important that one's faith be taken into account. One's faith, philosophy, personal viewpoint - all synonyms in a sense of one's guiding principle in life - imagine turning one's back on it. Would that make sense? If it did, then it's an overwhelming recognition of the flaws in one's own reason, one's own faith.
So long as we are able to acknowledge that there can be differences between we believe in and what everyone else does - even if we belong to the same religion - then we have the basic tools equipped to make an informed and reasoned choice. We are not robots. We do not have to take what others say if it does not reconcile with what's in our hearts. Religion may guide, but should never dictate our faith.
One's faith, one's relationship with a higher power, should be for that one person to discover for oneself - just like voting.
Learn more about this author, Harry Lamer.
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No
Does religion really affect a citizen's vote? To some degree, the answer is yes. However, citizens should remember that church and state are supposed to be separate. Religion should not prevent a good candidate from being voted in to office. After all, how does a citizen know that a candidate is truly religious?
~Separatio n of Church and State
Despite the separation of church and state, there are still many religious factors involved in government and politics. Politicians don't hesitate to use religion in order to gain votes. If anyone truly listens to a politician's campaign speeches, they will see that candidates tend to make their religious beliefs match the area they're campaigning in.
Candidates should stick to the real issues instead of using religion to gain votes. After all, just because a candidate is a good Christian, doesn't make them knowledgeable about economical issues. Citizens should remember that politics and religion are separate and should be voted on as thus.
~Real Issues
Religion doesn't matter when it comes to politics. Citizens should want to know more about how a candidate feels about the real issues. How is a candidate going to lower taxes or bring more jobs into your area? Religion has absolutely nothing to do with these types of issues. It may be comforting for citizens to know that a candidate will pray about issues. However, citizens need to vote for the candidate who is all about action.
~Image
Candidates appeal to the crowd they're speaking to. If the crowd is religious, suddenly the candidate is extremely devout. If the crowd is atheist, the candidate forgets all about religion. Politics have a lot to do with image. Since a candidate's religious views may change overnight, citizens should not allow religion to factor into the way they vote.
For truly religious citizens, the first thing they may consider when voting is religion. However, religion should be considered very lightly. When voting for a candidate, there are more important things to consider than religion. Religious or not, a good candidate will be able to help the community, state, or country. Religion has nothing to do with skill, so citizens should vote on candidates based on skill and political history only.
Learn more about this author, C.D. Crowder.
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