Gunman Assassinates U.S. Congresswoman

[MrFun]

President Obama does not strike me as particularly Christian (not that it matters to me).

Do you advocate a religious test for political office holders?

[DinoDoc]

Do you advocate a religious test for political office holders?

l2read.

[Hauldren Collider]

Do you advocate a religious test for political office holders?

No, and we don't have one. I don't have a problem with people voting based on their religion. It's a legitimate reason to vote for somebody because their opinions intersect with yours.

[a.kitman]

No, and we don't have one. I don't have a problem with people voting based on their religion. It's a legitimate reason to vote for somebody because their opinions intersect with yours.

yes you are right. but dont you think the low number of elected non believers is a bit strange?

[OzzyKP]

Considering the low number of non-believers in the country it isn't terribly strange, no.

[giblets]

No, and we don't have one. I don't have a problem with people voting based on their religion. It's a legitimate reason to vote for somebody because their opinions intersect with yours.

So, if someone didn't want to vote for a jew that wouldn't be anti-semitic? Or are you saying anti-semitism is okay?

[Kuciwalker]

What the hell are you all still talking about?

[Arrian]

gribbler,

Jews are an interesting case in that their identity is both ethnic and religious. Arguably, religion is an ideology you choose (or are born into but choose to stick with), whereas you can't do a damned thing about your ethnicity.

-Arrian

[giblets]

Yeah, maybe I should change the question a bit. Would it be okay for a voter to insist that jews should renounce jewish beliefs? I think religion should be kept out of politics, and consequently I think it's bad if voters base their decisions on it.

[giblets]

I don't get why HC would mind an official religious test if he has no problem with a religious test being imposed by a mob.

[Elok]

What if you're asking about a candidate's religious beliefs because you fear s/he will base the law on them? Is that a religious test for public office? Of course, to ask a candidate's behavior to in no way reflect his or her conscience (as shaped by his/her religion) is, in effect, to demand that politicians behave more hypocritically than they do at present--somewhat odd.

[giblets]

Maybe politicians should be asked about what principles they hold, and their supernatural beliefs should stay personal?

[Elok]

When their supernatural beliefs inform their principles, you're cutting out half the story.

[giblets]

Are you saying something like "it makes sense to not vote for atheists because they don't have any morals"? Why should people care about a politician's opinions on supernatural entities as long as the politician supports policies that the voter agrees with? I think maybe voters should focus on what laws a politician wants instead of what religion they're a part of?

[Elok]

Are you saying something like "it makes sense to not vote for atheists because they don't have any morals"? Why should people care about a politician's opinions on supernatural entities as long as the politician supports policies that the voter agrees with? I think maybe voters should focus on what laws a politician wants instead of what religion they're a part of?

Uh, I'm not Kid. I'm saying that, for the sincerely religious, you really can't divorce moral opinions from religion. If a pol of some fundamentalist persuasion believes women should abstain from wicked things like wearing pants and working outside the home because Allah, YHWH, Jesus or Brahma says so, you have to expect that belief to affect his decisions in some way. If you're of a more feminist slant, you're going to oppose him, no? Now, technically, you're opposing his hostility to women's rights, not the religious beliefs underpinning them, but that's a fairly fine point. The one is due to the other.

When JFK made his famous speech, he was repudiating the idea of absolute obedience to the Pope, not specific moral imperatives of his apparently rather nominal Catholicism. Secularism is clear-cut as far as not promoting one particular religion is concerned, but when it comes to matters where religious beliefs cause a distinct divergence of opinion, the waters get muddied a little. The idea of secularism itself is often a matter of religious belief; some Protestants believe in theodicy or theonomy or some other word for theocracy. When it comes to that, freedom of religion will be made to do battle with itself.