Religion has always been a disputed topic between different cultures and different people. There are 19 major religions in the world, which are subdivided into hundreds of other smaller groups. The view of every different religion varies and many times those differences can cause disputes and even wars. However, there is no right religion, because there is no way to substantiate or prove which beliefs are right and wrong. In the United States, for the most part, everyone has a right to believe in what they want to believe. So, should religion be a part of the presidential campaigns and whether or not we vote for someone?
A breakdown of the religious views in the United States
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It is understood that each presidential candidate has their own beliefs and religious affiliation. It is also understood that each candidate attempts to appeal to everyone in different ways. Whether it be through their religious beliefs or their stance on immigration or any other relevant topic.
This past week, a born again Christian pastor from Texas, Robert Jeffrees commented, that he thinks “Mitt Romney’s a good, moral man, but those of us who are born again followers of Christ should prefer a competent Christian”. Although, in reality he may agree with Rick Perry’s views more than Mitt Romney’s, in this statement, it is as if he is telling all born again Christians not to vote for Romney solely on the fact that he is a Mormon, not on his political views and ideas.
If everyone took this advice, most of the United States would not vote at all. As seen above in the pie chart, only 33% of the United States is Christian and only a small part of that 33% is born again. The other 66% of the United States is not Christian at all and usually not represented by their religion in the primaries or the general election. Who are the Muslims and the Jews and all the rest of the population supposed to vote for if they should only vote for a representative of their own religion.
Although religious views and values could have a part in whom a voter chooses it should not be the only reason someone votes for a candidate. Robert Jeffrees says, that he believes “that as a Christian, we have the duty to select Christians as our leaders”.
I would like to hear his views on the other topics such as immigration, jobs reform and the EPA, not just on his religious views. Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, whom Jeffrees mostly talks about, have different views on different topics, especially immigration, which Rick Perry has been getting a lot of criticism for.
It is one thing to vote for a candidate based on their stances on federal and governmental issues and have the deciding factor be their religious views but to choose a candidate based solely on the religious aspect doesn’t make sense.
Just because someone’s religious views are the same as your own, your political views can many times be very different. As long as a candidate’s religious views do not over shadow or leak into their political views, the issue of religion should not have anything to do or only have a small part to do with whether or not you vote for a candidate.
After President Obama was elected, he got a lot of criticism for the church he attended and who his pastor was. It is everyone’s own choice whom they choose as a pastor or religious leader, and it is a person’s own choice what religion they choose to practice and believe in. President Obama’s political views did not seem to be clouded by his religious views, so why was he criticized so much for where he chose to practice his religion?
Religious views are our own, and no one has all of the same views on religion, so why let religion leak into the presidential campaign?
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