Another interesting response to my post about religion and politics.
I'm surprised that in your post you didn't mention any other priorities of voters who make decisions based on faith. The broad support Democrats have traditionally enjoyed from Catholics was historically based on economic issues, charity to the disadvantaged, healthcare, human rights, and support for diplomatic avenues of conflict resolution. Of the politically liberal people I talk to, many consider these to be important moral issues.
Many other denominations, who don't go along with the Falwell inspired worldview that issues of morality center totally on reproduction related concerns, are comfortable advancing positions that more closely follow a liberal worldview. Most notable was the case of the United Methodist Church, which was in the same camp as the Pope when it came to opposing military action in Iraq. The UMC is the denomination that George Bush belongs to.
Linking political priorities to faith is extremely difficult. Our politics are an outward display of issues that can be very personal; and it follows that the more developed your sense of personal faith is, the harder it will be to find a political figure or issue that corresponds perfectly with it. What we are left with is sorting out our political priorities based a specific set of issues. In my posting two weeks ago, I chose to focus on those issues that are said to be central to Catholic voters.
Needless to say there are many other issues at hand than those, and this reader has hit on precisely why I tend to align myself with the Democratic side of politics: their attention to economic and social concerns.
Before I wrap this up, I will just say that it’s wonderful that George Bush’s church opposes military action in Iraq. But that doesn’t change a thing about the way he and his administration have gone about completely f---ing up the “War on Terror”, the war in Iraq, and the U.S.’s standing in the world. On top of all that, the man seems to truly believe that he is “chosen by the grace of God”.
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