Religion and Politics. It Affects Mitt Romney like it did JFK.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Religion and politics don't mix.. plain and simple. It's truly sad we still deal with the stupidity today.

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http://stompmud.com/2011/10/the-politics-of-religion-what-a-joke/

Here we go once again. The media and the candidates are obsessed with what religion each particular candidate is. This is especially true when it comes to comments about Mitt Romney being a Mormon. Shouldn’t all of this should have been settled in the 1960′s after John F. Kennedy gave his speech on being Catholic. Apparently we haven’t moved very far down the road since then.

Let’s move right along and get something clear. The religious affiliation for a member of congress, a member of the judiciary, and the President of the United States, do not matter one bit. The only thing that matters are those individuals ability to lead this nation and to be fair in doing so. Who they pray to, how they pray, and when they pray should not matter one bit to the American populace. In return the public official should not use his or her religion in practice of governing the people as well. This is not how our government is supposed to work at all. Now some people might be upset by this kind of talk and feel that religion is a very important aspect of a leader, but those people have been led down the wrong path in their beliefs to think that matters.

Does a person’s religion determine whether he is good or evil? Does a person who is not religious lack in the morals that someone who is religious has? There might be many out there that think so wrongfully, especially when looking at those who use religion as a weapon rather than a help to society. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look at the background of most of the wars fought in this world today. Most of them have been a battle of religions and culture. We as a people are literally creating bloodbaths based on who we do and do not worship. Does this not go against the fabric of almost every religion?

Let’s take a look at Mitt Romney who’s running for the Republican nomination for President. He’s a Mormon. For some reason this scares the hell out of many other Christians if he were to be elected President? Why is that? Are people afraid that all of a sudden the nation is going to become a Mormon nation and we’re all going to have 20 wives, have to live in Utah and dress nice all the time? Is everyone afraid that instead of him being President, he’s going to be a preacher instead? Why are people so afraid? There is not one good reason that Mitt Romney should not be President back on his religious affiliation. We can name plenty of reasons why he shouldn’t be President based on his policy decisions, but not one of those has anything to do with his God, his church, and what his family believes in. He has the exact same problem JFK had back in the 1960 election.

John F Kennedy had to deliver a speech to defend himself based on his Catholicism. It was a passionate speech and one he gave to ‘cool’ the nerves of those who might otherwise not vote for him for that simple reason. In one of the parts of JFK’s September 12, 1960 speech he stated the following:

I do not consider these other quotations binding upon my public acts. Why should you? But let me say, with respect to other countries, that I am wholly opposed to the state being used by any religious group, Catholic or Protestant, to compel, prohibit, or persecute the free exercise of any other religion. And I hope that you and I condemn with equal fervor those nations which deny their presidency to Protestants, and those which deny it to Catholics. And rather than cite the misdeeds of those who differ, I would cite the record of the Catholic Church in such nations as Ireland and France, and the independence of such statesmen as Adenauer and De Gaulle.

But let me stress again that these are my views. For contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.

The fact that even back in 1960, a time when the media wasn’t as big as it was and people were just beginning to see their nominees on TV, just goes to show you how important religion was to people and how wrong they were to judge a candidate on that fact. Here we are 51 years later, and we still have not learned any lessons from when JFK was running for President. We are still hounding a candidate based on his or her beliefs. We’re not just talking about Mitt Romney here either. Just look at representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota. He is a devout Muslim. Many people were upset that he was elected to the United States Congress and that he might have been sworn in using the Quran. Ellison wasn’t sworn in with the Quran or any other religious book for that matter, but the stories were all over the place trying to make Representative Ellison out to be some criminal and anti-American because he might have used the Quran instead of the Bible to be sworn in. Of course this wasn’t the case and Rep. Ellison has done his best to represent his constituency in Congress.

How do we as a nation move away from the idea that religion is important in electing our leaders? The religious right and to an extent the religious left in this country are doing all American people a disservice by holding candidates to their religious beliefs. We have a nation that has a constitution and a rule of law. Shouldn’t that not be the important factors when looking at which candidates people should vote for? After all, the first amendment prevents congress from enacting any laws based on religious beliefs. Shouldn’t that be enough to squelch any concerns that Christians and other religious people might have about a candidate? The constitution is not something that can just be changed by snapping ones fingers in case some people forgot. There is a long drawn out process for that to ever happen and no one in recent history has dared to try and quiet down any religious group based on what they believe. There are much bigger fish to fry than what God someone prays to.

We’re a long way away from making people waking up and realizing religion does not matter. A God and the affiliated church matter to individuals and individuals alone, not everyone else in the country. We are a melting pot of different beliefs, and different views. We aren’t a nation here to serve Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindu, etc. based on their beliefs. We are here to serve all people based on their needs so that they can believe and practice their religions freely or choose not the practice religion at all. Just because someone is agnostic or atheist, does not mean that individual does not share the moral beliefs that another has either. Having no belief or a God or questioning the existence of one does not make a difference in the ability to govern. This is a sad mistake that many religious people make in choosing their candidates and even who they associate with otherwise.

Perhaps the religious problem with America will never go away. After all, it’s not just an American problem, it’s a global problem. Religion is always on people’s minds who are afraid that religious liberty might somehow be diminished by a candidate who might ignore their beliefs, which is what a candidate is supposed to do anyway. Look at the issue of Gay Marriage and the impact religion has had against it, and you can only see how much of an important aspect it is to people. This is the exact area that people get wrong each and every time however, like in many other circumstances. Religious people need to step back and think clearly. Step outside of their religious boundaries and ask, “how does this have an effect on me?” Just because one does not ‘believe’ in something or considers it a ‘sin,’ does not mean it has an effect on that person. We fought so hard for liberty in this nation, yet many work so hard to keep away from their next door neighbor. Many religious people are selfish and ignorant of this little fact.

There’s nothing wrong with religion in this United States. There’s nothing wrong with being religious at all. The problem with religion is when we let it start to have an effect on our every day lives. We can all go to church every Sunday and pray the way we want to pray. We can all choose not to do any of that either. That is the beautiful part about this country. The media will try and tell us otherwise and try and keep controversial issues on the forefront. We can only hope though that people become better than that and that candidates like Mitt Romney, like Keith Ellison, and like JFK won’t ever have to denied a vote because of what God they pray to. Instead we hope for them to be denied or accepted on their policies and their policies alone. That is the American way and the last time we checked; no matter what you believe in, we are all still Americans.

[Ban Hammer 13,558]

minor topic title revision - affects in place of effects...

[Danno 1,228]

I hear ya,

the obsessed about Palin or Bachmanns religion has been an past time for way too many on the Left for far too long.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

I hear ya,

the obsessed about Palin or Bachmanns religion has been an past time for way too many on the Left for far too long.

it's not just 'the left.' It's both parties who give a damn. Most of it is religion vs religion BS. Which in reality has no place in politics.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I hear ya,

the obsessed about Palin or Bachmanns religion has been an past time for way too many on the Left for far too long.

Religion shouldn't be used as a basis to vote for or against anyone, nor should it have any place in determining policy. If it weren't for people like you and Bachmann, who try to inject religious morality into government and all policy, it wouldn't be an issue.