Should Religion and politics intersect????

Question

The fundamental idea that politics and religion should not intersect or overlap is flawed. It sounds great in theory; however, in reality I would suspect that most people do not divide their worldview into secular and sacred. For better or for worse, the marriage of politics and religion will not be undermined by political correctness or even the laws governing the seperation of church and state.

We as a society must be mature enough to realize that although we all come to the table of brotherhood, we all do not sit on the same side. All Christians, Muslims, and Jews did not come to the table of America via the same journey, parentage, cultural perspectives, or starting points. Naturally we will not all share the same views on social or political issues. How someone understands his or her faith and how a person uses his or her vote are part of a total picture of how we as a collective people create our world views. The IRS should not seek to antogonize churches for participating in the democratic process. Yes, the church is an institution that is a community of faith, but the church is also an institution that is a community of concerned citizens who usually share the same or simular values and worldviews.

What people vote for or against is usually an extension of what they believe on a sacred level.

Therefore, I do not see anything wrong with like-minded people who happen to belong to the same institution discussing and exercising their right to vote for or endorse a particular candidate.

Answer 1

This is a free country so they should not intercept.

Answer 2

In a democracy, a person like me has a right to vote and to express himself politically.  Now if part of my person is religious, that is to say I have religious beliefs, then that will affect how I vote and what I say.   Must I be silent just because I have a religious belief?  Or should I speak up and vote but pretending I don't have any religious belief?  Of course not. It wouldn't make any sense.

What is wrong is to have state imposed religion, or, on the other hand, a religion that monolithically imposes a political system.

Also, as a Christian, I believe it would be unfortunate if all those of like faith felt they had to share the same political views.  Unfortunately, my fellow Evangelicals have given this idea in past years, because of the "moral majority" movement.

For instance, I happen to be an Evangelical with fairly "fundamentalist" doctrine (historical fundamentalist), but politically, I lean pretty much to the left. In fact I would be considered a socialist here in North America (In most of Europe I would be considered centrist I guess).  But it is difficult for many people to imagine that I can be a  conservative evangelical, and a socialist at the same time.  That is because of the monolithic political image we have given.

Another thing:

We evangelicals tend to have certain convictions in regards to abortion, g*y marriage, etc. that we look for in a party, or we want a party to at least pretend to agree with us.  it is too easy, however, for us to forget that there are other moral issues, such as care of the poor, and of children, that might be a big issue for a party that disagrees with us on the first two issues.  So we need to be sure we are not oversimplifying our political convictions, we need to be looking at the whole picture.

A long answer, but your question requires it.

Answer 3

We do not all share the same religeous views any more than we share political views. We are therefore all inflenced for good or bad by our religeous beliefs or lack of them. Your question is theefore flawed. religeon will and ddoes intersect with the secular and cannot be prevented from doing so. The climate of the present government is that all religeons must be respected just as long as a Christian faith is not. This is one of the points where religeon and politics intersect

Answer 4

Not at the government / policy level, but you can't prevent it at the individual level.  To do so would be unconstitutional.

"Therefore, I do not see anything wrong with like-minded people who happen to belong to the same institution discussing and exercising their right to vote for or endorse a particular candidate."

I don't either, and what's the difference between that faith-based group and any other political group?  Practically nothing besides what policies / candidates they endorse.

Answer 5

I do not check my citizenship at the door of my church, so why would i check my Christianity at the door of the statehouse? All laws are going to influenced by someones beliefs, the question is, is whos.

Answer 6

Church should only intersect with state in one way: if you go to church, naturally you will have beliefs and morals that will influence your opinion when you vote, albeit in Congress or in the polling booths. That is your right. Anything else is not Constitutional, and for good reason. When church groups start endorsing candidates, you have a conflict of interest. That congressman is responsible for representing his state or district, not the group that supported him. It is no different than if a cigarette company endorses and supports a candidate. You have a right to vote for whomever you want, but you do not have a right as a religious group to try to influence the elections. Interest groups, be they religious or business, are the number one cause of political corruption in this country. That is a fact.

Qualification: I must add that what I mean by a group supporting a candidate, I mean that monetarily, moreso than just in word. There is nothing wrong with a group of people supporting their candidate. It is when they essentially "buy" the candidate with their support that you have a problem.

Answer 7

I don't see the question your right in every way but how do you propose a solution. The IRS must be your pet peeve. If this is so you must watch the documentary Freedom to Fascism it will put everything into perspective in a financial sense anyway