Religious Influence In Presidential Elections

Every election is about policy, money, attacking opponents, as well as ethics and values of the candidates. The ethics and values of a candidate are what draw a voter to vote for that individual. White Evangelicals relate to Trump; they connect with him. Trump is different from other GOP candidates in that he does not talk about religion. He does not use the “religion card.” I could talk about the ethics and values of Trump, but by now we all have an understanding of what he stands for.

Furthermore, emphasizing the influence of President’s secret religiosity on the politics of the country may well be part of a larger regard to view religion as, entirely, a private task, rather than a common enterprise. However, civil religion in U.S Presidential rhetoric still represents the republican tradition of the Declaration of Independence, and it is important in shaping the policy and political rhetoric guide of the Americans in choosing their candidates. It also attributes to the American sense of exceptionalism which is the belief that the United States is chosen by God. This idea was emphasized in one of the preacher Billy Graham’s sermons, who argued that, the desire of September 9/11 would come to be seen as ‘a day of victory’,

Americans have always been hesitant about mixing politics and religion. It seems that we want our politicians to be religious, and especially Christian, but without flaunting it around. This entails that we view their spiritual lives with a doubt in mind, questioning either their honesty or their free will to make an educated decision, not one based solely upon the bible. Ronald Reagan is the most evident form of this and what came from this was the presidency that is hailed as the greatest ever by some.

Bush had with Christians, Obama partook in religiously focused events in hopes of structuring an evangelical backing as well as quieting down his supposed Muslim faith. In the face of creating an advisory council specifically to reach Catholic voters and citing the Bible at different events, Patricia Smith in “Religion & the White House” claims that “18 percent of Americans still believe he’s a Muslim, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center Poll.” An individual can only go so far to convince an assemblage of people of a particular lifestyle before it simply becomes ignorance. In the 2012 presidential race, it was Barack Obama’s competition that was at the forefront of the religious

In today’s world, many Americans are religious--some more than others. Many Americans think that

Yet, it is only the appearance of religion that is helpful . George Bush claims that not only is he saved, but is called upon by God to political office. He also uses extensive references to scripture during his public speeches and he promises to bring freedom “as a gift from the Almighty” to benighted regions of the world like the Middle East. His so called strong morality and grounding in faith was one of the major reasons for his widespread public appeal, and according to some estimates, they are among the most important factors in the 2004 election(Urban, #130). This “good ole boy” painted a virtuous image of himself that the people loved and he has quickly fallen from grace after being in office for two terms. His positive popularity diminished, not only in the United States, but all over the world as well. I found the following fact interesting: a poll conducted in Britain named Bush the second biggest “threat to world peace” after Bin Laden, beating North Korean president Kim Jong–il (Wikipedia, #203). I guess appearance isn’t everything.

I don’t think religion has any place in politics, and certainly should not play any important role in government or politics. But America’s conservatives are obsessed with religion, with these GOP candidates perpetually attempting to “out-Christian” each other. It’s quite common to hear conservatives rant about Obama not being “Christian enough” for their liking. Why, then, are they all clamoring to get Trump elected? Trump has been divorced twice and married three times, and recently made some controversial remarks about his Church visits.

Immigration is a hot-button issue that has become a popular and controversial media topic within the last decade. We are currently in the middle of a vicious presidential election where one candidate, Donald Trump, desires to build a wall across the Mexico-U.S. border and the other candidate, Hillary Clinton, plans to help more eligible immigrants become naturalized. These ideas imply that one candidate views immigration unfavorably while the other views it favorably. I am curious how religion affects views on immigration. The United States prides itself in being a “melting pot” and encourages freedom of religion. Since religiosity varies on such a wide scale in the United States, I am interested in how religion affects views on immigration. Specifically, I want to know, “Does religious identity affect attitudes toward immigration?” and “Does the strength of religious affiliation affect attitudes toward immigration?” This is an important question because the word “immigrant” often comes

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

A person’s faith, assuming that they actually stick to it, says a lot about what that person would do and what that person would defend and protect. It also says a lot about what character the person may have when it comes to truthfulness and kindness. Because of this, a person’s religious beliefs and whether they hold to them may cause me to vote for

Out of these 44 individuals, 43 have been white and all of them have been men. There has been only one black president and there has never been a female president. The United States constitution prohibits a religious test as a requirement for the presidency, however, nearly all of the U.S. presidents have been christians (Masci 2017). Nearly half of the presidents have been affiliated with the Episcopal or Presbyterian churches. John F. Kennedy has been the only Catholic to have held the nation’s highest office. Only three U.S. presidents — Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson — have been unaffiliated with a specific religious tradition (Knott 2005). A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that many Americans care about their beliefs. For instance, half of all American adults say it’s important for a president to share their religious beliefs. And more people now say there is “too little” religious discussion by their political leaders (40%) than say there is “too much” (27%). Two of possibly the most famous presidents in American history had no formal religious affiliation. The first, Thomas Jefferson, lost his faith in orthodox Christianity at an early age, but continued to believe in

Charles Spurgeon exclaimed, “Of the two evils, choose neither.” God will never put believers in a situation where one cannot escape evil. Some believers say that Christians should not make a decision indecisively, and to always opt out the choices that do not honor the Father. If one were to die after they vote, would they feel confident in their decision about the next leading President? The decision to vote is not any different than any other decision. Praying is the first action, and then one needs to prioritize what God prioritizes. The individual candidate is never going to fully line up with the Word of God, but Trump is surely more suitable than Hillary! Do not compare the individual, but rather how they line up with Our

America wastes a lot of time trying to create a democracy completely absent of the moral expectations that our ancestors have put into place. Our founding fathers’ dream of establishing a country in which all people would be accepted has begun to fall. In our attempt to rid our country of a democracy contaminated with any belief in a supreme power, we have rid ourselves of many of our values and morals. Perhaps it is impossible for religion to dominate our political country, but we have misinterpreted the original intent of “separation of church and state” and taken this concept too far.

Although the connections between religion and politics may be controversial to some, it really isn’t surprising that they overlap. For many people, religion and politics are significant parts of their ideology and morals; they both shape ethical decisions and certainly influence how we view society and the interactions within it. Politics and religion, along with ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, are important identities that shape how others see us, and how we see ourselves. Thus, it makes sense that religious beliefs may influence a person’s politics or vice versa. While I believe a mix of these identities, and thus personal experiences, has the greatest impact on politics, religion clearly is a significant influence

In the body of political science research, there is a world of information about how female candidates running for office affect the likelihood of women to be politically active. There is also a significant amount of data regarding both candidate religion and religiosity and how these factors could impact their likeability and send subtle messages to voters. However, there is not enough research that has been done on the intersection of these two topics. In this literature review, I will attempt to connect these topics, specifically to predict how religious women would tend to vote for highly visible religious female candidates. Primarily, I will address how candidate gender