The Role of Religion in Presidential Elections

Religion in politics is a big topic of discussion and I think it will always be a topic of discussion. Like a lot of decisions in life, religion is a personal opinion, and you are either going to believe or not and no one can judge you. I have always followed the saying, “Don’t talk about politics at a dinner

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’,

Unsurprisingly, Cruz begins with an emphatic “God bless the great state of Iowa!” and follows that with an additional, more intense religious appeal, bowing his head and humbly acknowledging “Let me first of all say: to God be the glory.” Both lines are met with enormous applause, and the reasons are obvious: Iowa has a particularly large religious population, and Cruz’s success in the state was largely predicated on his own religious appeal: both his father, a preacher, and Bob Vander Plaats, the head of The Family Leader, an influential Christian group in Iowa, campaigned extensively for him. Of course, these two lines appeal to religious voters watching on television, and the noisy applause that meets them illustrates the enthusiasm of his supporters. Anticipating the coming primaries, Cruz quickly shifts his focus to appeal to the nation as a whole, asserting that his win proves “the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media, will not by chosen by the Washington establishment, will not be chosen by the lobbyists, but will be chosen by the most incredible, powerful force where all sovereignty resides in our nation—by we the people, the American people!” In doing so, Cruz appeals to logos: his praise of his voters as independent, combined with an

Historically, religion and politics have always played a very significant part in our everyday lives, dating back to the ancient pharaohs of Africa to our modern day society, the relationship between religion and politics can be traced through centuries of human history in various civilizations. Both religion and politics prescribe, legislate, and enforce codes of behavior, promote collective action, and create group identification. There are numerous examples of how religion continues to contribute to the formation and evolution of political ideas and institutions. For a good example of how religion affects politics in our modern world we need not look very far but in our own backyard. The influence of Catholicism on Latin American politics, and the role religion plays on Middle Eastern politics have had a profound affect in those related societies. The Catholic charismatic movement has also become more and more politically active”.

American voters are swayed heavily by their upbringing. People tend to share the same political beliefs as their parents; however, religious background gives parental influence a run for its money. In the United States, 78.3% of Americans are Christian making it the most common religious affiliation (Hackett & Grim, 2012). Christianity is rooted in truth and love— love for yourself and others. So when it comes to voting for the next president, many Christians seem to be at a crossroads, because the presidential candidates seem to lack truth, love, or even both. Both candidates use ruthless rhetoric attacking these Christian values. Hillary Clinton is portrayed as a lying murderer, while Trump is painted as a xenophobic entitled ass. Despite core Christian values differing from Donald Trump’s rhetoric, Christian voters are still choosing Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, because Republican values mirror Christian values.

the 2016 presidential campaign doesn’t look like it will be dominated by faith issues: same-sex marriage was settled by the Supreme Court, and fetal tissue research, one of the social issues that has gotten the most play in debates to date, has been taken off the table by Planned Parenthood’s choice to stop accepting compensation for fetal

Amy Black, professor of Political Science at Wheaton College, explains how important Evangelical votes are; “Because evangelical voters are an important voting bloc, politicians have many incentives to pander to them. We should critically evaluate candidates’ appeals and actions, testing their authenticity.” The government’s morals will not change if Evangelicals never get involved and vote for the leader who has the same values. Barton says “In elections from 1992-2000…There are sixty million Evangelicals in America, but in the most recent presidential election, only fifteen million voted. In fact twenty-four of the sixty million weren’t even registered to vote.”

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.

The article found “while support for the Republican party is factored by religious tradition, biblical authority, social class, and gender. Black support for the Democratic Party, on the other hand, is equally strong across each of these categories, and in no way resembles the fractured pattern of white religious partisanship. Thus we find that the effect of religious identity on voter choice is contingent on race”

I’ve read this and been thinking about it. Here is my response to this the editorial. First of all, OF COURSE Christians should try to influence elections… so should everyone else! My concern about the focus is that so often it seems that the Christians Mr. Grudem is trying to influence try to tie their political opinions, policy positions, and those whom they support with their religion. I very rarely see this link as being positive; typically it is short sighted and replaces critical thinking of far-sighted potential ramifications of a policy to blind obedience to a faith based system of thought. That is not healthy, and it is certainly not Christianity. So I agree with the principle, but I am reading something sinister between the lines. Paranoia on my part? Possibly, but recent history of certain religious groups selling out to a certain political party suggest otherwise.

It was starting to look as if politics were beginning to become more secular. As it is well known, after Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson carried out the rest of Kennedy’s term, and then ran for reelection in 1964. Johnson, a left-leaning Democrat found himself up against Barry Goldwater from the right-minded Republican Party. Early on in the 20th century, many of Protestant denominations had adopted progressive, social reformist doctrines, that many people still value to this day. Despite being Protestant, Goldwater’s platform took a much more conservative approach. This ended up backfiring on him, however, as many Christian publications stated that they opposed Goldwater’s policies. He was further stigmatized by the religious publication The Christian Century as turning his patriotic rhetoric into “religious nationalism.” To make matters worse for Goldwater, in October of 1964, less than a month before the general election, 725 Episcopalian clergy and laymen from forty-one states signed a resolution accusing him of “a transparent exploitation of racialism.” Richard Nixon, a Republican and ex-Vice President at the time, claimed that these allegations were “the most vicious in political history.” As a result, Lyndon Johnson won the 1964 election in an unprecedented landslide victory, with Barry Goldwater only winning six states: his native Arizona, and five states in the heart of the Bible Belt (Kosmin 1993:174-5). While religious leaders in the end

I started my search based off my long held interest in politics, and the issues that affect the way we govern. So I boiled that down to the entities that decide when and what we govern. Political Parties. After I had my subject I looked at the three things I believe political parties play a role in. The three areas of interest I chose were our political parties role in our history, economics, and religion, and what factors in those areas determine how political parties’ function.

The author Gary Gutting in his commentary, Should Religion Play a Role in Politics, states many reasons why personal beliefs should impact government policies. He starts of stating that many Americans think that, “Religion has no place at all,” in government policies. As the passage progresses Gutting starts to refute this idea and claims that religion plays a major part in politics. He concludes that personal beliefs are needed in politics because, “different groups of citizens accepted the same conclusion from quite different arguments,” therefore create solutions to major problems.

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