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Religion and the Presidency
http://forum.hrwiki.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=13673		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Potates [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Religion and the Presidency
Do you believe that religion should be taken into account when deciding the leader of a country?
In recent debates, many presidential candidates have been asked their views on God, their faith, evolution versus creation, etc.
Religion has even ben used to slander candidates, for example, Obama has been flamed due to the "fact" that he is a Muslim (he's not).
Will a leader's faith and belief affect their ability to lead? Does it really matter whether the president of the United States is a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or an atheist, or even a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Discuss.
Author:  AbuGrape45 [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
The only thing that should be taken into account is the capability of the candidate.
Author:  furrykef [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
I think one's religion should have nothing to do with it. For one thing, being a Christian or whatever doesn't necessarily make you a good Christian. Anybody on the street can proclaim themselves to be a Christian, regardless of their beliefs or behavior, as long as they believe in Christ. (Heck, even that isn't a requirement to claim to be a Christian. If you just pretend, nobody'll ever know!) There are plenty who think (or at least act as if) they can behave however they please as long as they confess to their sins. Not all Christians are that way, of course... but the point is, you can't tell. A candidate saying "I am a Christian" means next to nothing.

For another thing, I don't think a President should act on his religious beliefs. The President's job is to do what's best for the people -- all the people -- not to serve his own religion. For instance, suppose the President is voting on a law that favors gambling, and gambling is against his religion. The President should not veto the law for that reason alone, because there are many people that this simply doesn't apply to. (Yes, from his own point of view, it could be argued that Christian/whatever laws apply to everyone whether they are a Christian or not. But I think that's irrelevant; due to separation of church and state, the President should look at it from a neutral point of view than a Christian one.) Now, it would be impossible to keep religion from coloring his point of view, but I think a good President would allow it to happen as little as possible.

- Kef
Author:  Rusty [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
Of course it shouldn't. Just because someone's a Christian doesn't mean they're a better president than the exact same person that's a Muslim.
Author:  HHFOV [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
Alright, who voted yes.

It's okay, you can come out now.
Author:  AbuGrape45 [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
I think Kef did. Don't attack or harass him for it though, FOV. That kind of thing irritates me.
Author:  this-guy [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
n
Author:  Rusty [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
AbuGrape45 wrote:
I think Kef did. Don't attack or harass him for it though, FOV. That kind of thing irritates me.


Did you even read his post?
Author:  AbuGrape45 [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
I did read his post. It seems as if he was the only one who could back himself up well so that he could vote contrarily to everyone else.
Author:  Rusty [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
furrykef wrote:
I think one's religion should have nothing to do with it.



I'm guessing you didn't read his post, because this is the first thing he said
Author:  AbuGrape45 [ Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
Daah, I misread it and it looked like "I think no one's religion should have nothing to do with it."

Never mind, I have no idea who voted yes.
Author:  ed 'lim' smilde [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
Potates wrote:
or even a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Okay, I wouldn't vote for a Pastafarian. But that's not really even a religion anyways. Otherwise, as Martin Luther said, "I'd rather have a good Muslim king than a bad Christian one."

Our laws can't be completely un-religious, though. Like, you can't perform human sacrifices. And Mormons weren't allowed to practice polygamy back in the day.
Author:  StrongRad [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
I think you should.
More specifically, I think you should look at the way the person practices their religion (or doesn't).

Would you want a radical Muslim that practices Sharia law in the White House?
Didn't think so.

The president, if he is doing his job, might let his decisions be influenced by his religion (hello, human being), but as long as he doesn't let the religion CONTROL the decisions, I'd say he's ok.
That's one reason I didn't have a problem with Barack Obama being a Muslim (even though he isn't, no matter how many fear-mongering emails Hillary Clinton's supporters and Bill O'Reilly fans send out).
Author:  DukeNuke [ Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Religion and the Presidency
Here in Sweden, if a politician said "we need to do this because god told me so" he/she wouldn't be a politician for very long. Not even the Christian Democrats use the faith card. Religion isn't a part of politics in Europe in the same way it is in the U.S.. It simply isn't as relevant or interesting what religion you have, like it's not very interesting what kind of music you prefer, or your favorite color. Unless, of course, like StrongRad said, it affects your reasoning heavily.
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