Hellobee Boards

Your take is my take exactly. This country was built to escape religion persecution and allow for religious freedom. Personally I feel like sometimes people use their religion to hide behind their own (bigoted) feelings. I'm sorry if that offends anyone.

I like this quote by JFK:
"It represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe--a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office."

I think it's all about your belief system and worldview. Hardly anyone would vote for someone that they don't agree with for the most part.

Separating your feelings from who you want to lead our country does not fall under separation of church and state IMO.

I am a conservative Christian, but I don't vote because my "religion" tells me how to vote; I vote because of how I believe and how I want our country to be led. However, this also coincides with how I think the country should be run according to the original constitution that the forefathers created. When we start moving away from that, we start to lose what they worked so hard to build.

Nope. The government shouldn't be the morality police.

No. I believe in the separation of church and state.

Yes and no. My Catholicism certainly is a big part of me and thus, it definitely influences how I feel about certain issues. At the same time, I strongly believe in the separation of church and state.

I also have big problems with people claiming to be religious and then supporting economic policy that hurts some of the most disenfranchised people in our society. I feel very strongly about that.

I don't understand why people say they use their religion as a baseline to vote Republican; what about all of the parts of the bible where Jesus takes care of the poor, the sick, the needy....?

I highly recommend "God's Politics:Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It" by Jim Wallis.

From a post yesterday: "We said that voting was always an imperfect choice in a fallen world, based on prudential judgments about how to best vote our values, that people of faith would always vote in different ways -- and that was a good thing for a democracy and the common good."

Worth a read. Full post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/god-is-still-not-a-republ_b_2076849.html

Yes. I am catholic and believe in the dignity of every person and protecting the rights of the poor and marginalized.

I feel the same as you, but I know it differs for different people. For example, my MIL is very pro-life due to her religious beliefs. In my opinion, abortion should be legal because it gives people more freedom, despite my personal feelings on the issue. But, in hers, she thinks of abortion as actual murder of a human being, so in that instance, it would make sense that she would think it should be illegal. (I mean I'm all for freedom, but I don't think murder should be legal.)

I think it can be difficult to separate the ideas of religious beliefs and personal beliefs, and people vote based on their personal beliefs all the time. So, I don't think it's always a case of someone trying to push their beliefs on others as much as it is of people having different ideas of right and wrong and trying to figure out how that should fit in to the legal framework.

I'm not religious, so I vote on what I think is right morally, for our society, and for our future. I would vote against a candidate based on his/her religion if they're religious views heavily influenced their policies. I highly believe in a separation of church and state, not everyone is X religion.

@MrsBrewer: Do you separate how you choose to live your life though with how others are allowed to live their life? I have many religious beliefs that I would never want to be enforced on others, it's not a choice and a belief if it's government enforced.

Nope. I identify as agnostic and believe strongly in the separate of church and state. My beliefs are a result of personal experience and research. I certainly won't be holding my breath for a mainstream candidate that is not religious, which is fine by me (re: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-atheists-we-distrust)

I have no problem with a politician's religion or lack thereof as long as they keep it separate from how they make political decisions. To me, Joe Biden's answer from the debate epitomizes that, in regards to abortion at least.

"“My religion defines who I am,” he said, “and I’ve been a practicing Catholic my whole life….With regard to abortion, I accept my church’s position on abortion…life begins at conception in the church’s judgement. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews. I do not believe that we have a right to tell other people that – women – they can’t control their body. It’s a decision between them and their doctor. In my view, and in the Supreme Court, I’m not going to interfere with that.”

Even though I think this discussion extends beyond a woman's right to choose, it seemed fitting to share that.

No, no no. Separation of church and state, and separation of church and schools.

Coming from a Christian.

@Arden: agreed! Church and state should absolutely be separate.

I have big problems with politicians pushing their "moral" beliefs on me, especially when most have big problems with morals and ethics.

I'm a Christian and honestly, neither candidate or party lines up with my beliefs in particular. I get annoyed when people try to convince me to vote Republican strictly because of the Bible--I think you could make the same argument about voting Democrat if you pick and choose issues.

Yes. My religious beliefs strongly affect my political choices. I believe that God put us on this earth to be caretakers of it and of each other. I believe in looking after our environment. I believe in helping the poor, the vulnerable and the needy. I believe that God is the ultimate judge - it's not my job to judge the choices other's make but to love them and support them through their choices.

Our current government in the UK have made some decisions that have made my middle class life a little easier..... but they are also making the lives of millions of people miserable through cuts to welfare benefits and essential public spending. You know what? I'd rather my taxes were higher so that everyone here can have a decent quality of life, decent healthcare and essential life chances.

My "religious" beliefs are a part of who I am and cannot be separated from any of my other beliefs. It's hard for me to understand how people can put their faith in a box when it's time to vote. But, different strokes, right?

Anyway, one thing I really don't understand is Biden's stand on abortion. If you believe abortion is murder (not saying that I do), wouldn't you insist it be outlawed? If some other religions believed in infanticide, or honor killings, etc., am I required to support that in order to respect other religions? Just food for thought.

Having said all that, I don't vote based on one issue... Like PP I think you have to look at the whole picture.

PS @Mrs. Blue: you are very correct regarding "church and state!"

@Cherrybee: oh, wow. I think that was one of the most eloquent posts I've read. Your post truly embodies Christianity and Christ-like love

My faith informs all of my opinions and life decisions. Why would I exclude my political outlook from that?