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    Religion of a Politician Doesn't Mean a Thing

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    COMMENTARY | One thing that has always irked me about politics is the constant need to infuse a candidate's religious beliefs into the discussion. If you live in a small town and you are electing a mayor, does it really matter what god the person prays to? No, it doesn't. You are just looking for somebody to be able to effectively run your town. Why then does religion matter so much on the national scale?

    It's partly the candidates' fault. They want to appeal to such a high number of voters that they will go for the religion card whenever it suits them. The problem is it opens each candidate for an attack on their individual religion. Like with Rick Santorum. CNN is reporting the Drudge Report is rehashing excerpts from a speech he gave in 2008. The high point was Santorum talking about the presence of Satan in American society. A speech to a religious group wouldn't have been brought up by Drudge unless somebody was trying to discredit Santorum in some way.

    The same way Santorum is attacking President Barack Obama on his religion. According to MSNBC, Santorum is dismissing Obama's religious integrity by saying he isn't a true Christian. What constitutes a true Christian? Santorum stating Obama isn't one sort of goes against the Christian ethic of "judge not lest ye be judged."

    The idea of bringing up religion in politics is blowing hot air and wasting time. There are too many other issues to talk about than where an elected official prays. If you look at the U.S. National Debt Clock, the debt of the U.S. is in the range of $15 trillion. This is an act of man, not god. God has never voted on a bill. Leave him out of politics.

     

    3 comments

    • Kim  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      Since the conception of our great country, the 'Founding Fathers' have made references to God, have expressed the importance of God in day-to-day living, and in having a personal belief in God as a basic, fundamental characteristic of a "moral compass and as a man of integrity having high standards."

      It seems that presidents of past times and modern day politicians feel it is a duty of sorts and/or right (which it is their right) to continue, for lack of a better word, the "tradition" of mentioning God and religion and it is also an effort, I believe, to try to present (or sell) themselves as "upstanding" people in an effort to appeal to the citizens and to gain their votes.

      America has its beginnings, principles, and foundations deeply rooted in God and religion, but in this day and age, there are bigger issues to tackle and address than God and religion.

      Just as a side note...believing in God and/or religion does not necessarily make you a better person. Plenty of "Christians" do things that are unlawful, immoral, mean-spirited, etc... People either do...or do not...have the innate, natural feeling and ability that makes them know what is right and wrong, good and bad, holy and evil, and how they should behave in whatever circumstance.

      "Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it." ~ William Penn
      • Bob 3 mths ago
        I'm not sure that there are "bigger issues than God and religion to tackle"; but the political arena is not the place to tackle them.

        Otherwise, good post!
    • Bob  •  3 mths ago
      You'd better believe a known atheist would have trouble getting elected mayor in this and many other small towns. Maybe most. He or she might even have an uphill fight if it were known they did not attend church. Should that be so? Not in this Christian's opinion; but if I were crazy enough to want to hold office in this This-Is-A-Nice-Town-Wasn't-It burg, I'd get votes just because people know I held down a pulpit for almost two years.

      Where Santorum and his sparring partners are getting into trouble, as politicians, not preachers, is that they are getting into specific issues of doctrine. Had they simply said, "I subscribe to the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, beyond that, my faith is between myself, my God and the people of my church", they wouldn't be in this mess; and would not come across as Pharisees
    • Amirul  •  Dhaka, Bangladesh  •  3 mths ago
      Nobody should mix politics and religion.politics don't control religion or religion should not control politics.Both should be applied for people's good by politicians and religion scholar .
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