正文
Voters: Keep God, Religion Out Of Politics
Stephen Byrne
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 Connecticut voters want God kept out of election campaigns and away from government, a recent poll shows.
According to the poll, which was conducted last month by UConn\'s Center for Survey Research and Analysis and questioned 488 residents on the issue of religion and politics, nearly half of Connecticut residents believe religion has too much influence on politics.
Forty-four percent of residents polled said organized religion has too much influence on political affairs, while 68 percent said they don\'t like it when politicians let their religious beliefs affect policy decisions. Fifty-four percent said their own religion does not factor into whom they vote for in an election.
It is not the result of a lack of religion in the state - as 62 percent said religion was extremely important or very important to them - but a simple desire to keep religion and politics separate. About half of those who said that religion was extremely important said religious leaders should stay away from government.
But with the 2008 presidential election on the horizon and the ever-present issues of gay marriage, abortion and stem-cell research likely to come up in debates and campaigns, it may be increasingly difficult to keep religion out of the election. And with both politicians and religious leaders making their voices heard about these hot topics, keeping them separate will hardly be an easy task.
Mat Samuelson, director of the school\'s chapter of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group, said he believes the two cannot truly be kept apart.
Everyone has beliefs that affect their politics. A blanket word like \'religion\' equivocates all beliefs. Good religion needs more influence, bad less.
Samuelson, who described religion as an extremely important part of his life, also commented on what constitutes a good or bad religion.
It\'s all about the object of your religion, which determines if it\'s good or bad, he said. A religion based in love, for example, is a good religion.
As campaigns advance over the next year, political issues that simultaneously question the government and faith will inevitably come up, and candidates will be hard-pressed to keep their religious beliefs distinct from public policy. Connecticut voters, at least, would prefer that they be kept separate.
If a candidate were to use the Bible as an argument against something such as gay marriage, I think that would be an inappropriate level of involvement, said Eric Peterson, a 5th-semester English major and member of Campus Crusade for Christ.
While evangelical Christians are the dominant voice in American politics, Connecticut voters do not want to hear their voices when they go to the polls.
Contact Stephen Byrne at Stephen.Byrne@UConn.edu.
http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/09/06/News/Voters.Keep.God.Religion.Out.Of.Politics-2953765.shtml
Stephen Byrne
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 Connecticut voters want God kept out of election campaigns and away from government, a recent poll shows.
According to the poll, which was conducted last month by UConn\'s Center for Survey Research and Analysis and questioned 488 residents on the issue of religion and politics, nearly half of Connecticut residents believe religion has too much influence on politics.
Forty-four percent of residents polled said organized religion has too much influence on political affairs, while 68 percent said they don\'t like it when politicians let their religious beliefs affect policy decisions. Fifty-four percent said their own religion does not factor into whom they vote for in an election.
It is not the result of a lack of religion in the state - as 62 percent said religion was extremely important or very important to them - but a simple desire to keep religion and politics separate. About half of those who said that religion was extremely important said religious leaders should stay away from government.
But with the 2008 presidential election on the horizon and the ever-present issues of gay marriage, abortion and stem-cell research likely to come up in debates and campaigns, it may be increasingly difficult to keep religion out of the election. And with both politicians and religious leaders making their voices heard about these hot topics, keeping them separate will hardly be an easy task.
Mat Samuelson, director of the school\'s chapter of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group, said he believes the two cannot truly be kept apart.
Everyone has beliefs that affect their politics. A blanket word like \'religion\' equivocates all beliefs. Good religion needs more influence, bad less.
Samuelson, who described religion as an extremely important part of his life, also commented on what constitutes a good or bad religion.
It\'s all about the object of your religion, which determines if it\'s good or bad, he said. A religion based in love, for example, is a good religion.
As campaigns advance over the next year, political issues that simultaneously question the government and faith will inevitably come up, and candidates will be hard-pressed to keep their religious beliefs distinct from public policy. Connecticut voters, at least, would prefer that they be kept separate.
If a candidate were to use the Bible as an argument against something such as gay marriage, I think that would be an inappropriate level of involvement, said Eric Peterson, a 5th-semester English major and member of Campus Crusade for Christ.
While evangelical Christians are the dominant voice in American politics, Connecticut voters do not want to hear their voices when they go to the polls.
Contact Stephen Byrne at Stephen.Byrne@UConn.edu.
http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/09/06/News/Voters.Keep.God.Religion.Out.Of.Politics-2953765.shtml
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