Religion and Politics

2011-11-17T22:05:00.001-05:00

Religion and politics are two things that the American people have convinced themselves that should never meet. Akin to a wife meeting a mistress, Americans are deathly afraid of having religion and politics intermingling. However, it is necessary to recognize that there are few things as intensely personal to the average American than are religion and politics. In fact, Americans openly uphold certain stereotypes about the two, for example, Evangelical Republicans or Liberal Catholics are commonly voiced stereotypes about religious people in politics. Despite this, there seems to be a stigma placed upon having these two distinctions (one's religion and one's political beliefs) acted upon. It would never be accepted in the American political arena for an Evangelical to claim that he supports the State of Israel because it is Biblical (not to mention crazed notions of inducing the rapture by returning all of the Jews to the Holy Land). Neither would it be okay for a Catholic to oppose abortion because the Roman Catholic Church has consistently condemned the practice of abortion as immoral. These religious justifications of political actions are not "politically correct," ironic as it may sound. However, is there a problem with this reality... is wrong to use religion to determine politics?

My gut reaction is to say yes. Of course it is wrong to use purely religious justifications for political beliefs! In America, a nation characterized by its diversity as a melting pot of different religions - using religion to determine politics would mean an unceasing disagreement of political ideals. Agreement and compromise in politics would be impossible.

However, is is possible to divorce politics and religion? Religion, for one, is an inexorable aspect of the human person. Politics, maybe not so much... So is it fair, or even possible, to ask the American voter to put aside all religious beliefs and ideals when voting in the political process? If, for example, as a Catholic, my Bishop issues a voting guide informing all Catholics in the diocese that is is immoral and a sin to vote for a pro-choice (pro-abortion), am I supposed to simply ignore the voting advice given to me by my moral authority, according to my religion? How could I avoid specific directions by my religious authority to not to vote for a specific candiate based off of a political issue, or issues. Although, it seems to me that it would be politically unsound of me to make all of my voting decisions based upon what a religious authority may say. Whatever happened to the separation between Church and State? Our national political leaders have almost unanimously upheld this notion of the strict distinction between politics and religion.

It seems to me that although a strict division between politics and religion is impossible - that there should be a more informative relationship between the two. Essentially, I believe that religion should influence politics insofar as it serves as an advisory role to supplement political issues.

For example, as a Catholic my religion universally condemns abortion as a grave moral evil, as it is the willful destruction of innocent human life. Therefore, rather than having the Catholic Church directly telling voters as to who they may, or may not, vote for, which would be a violation of the relationship between Church and State. That rather, the Catholic Church should educate its followers so that they can evaluate political decisions as morally responsible moral individuals, whilst keeping in mind the various moral teachings of the Catholic Church. This view respects the various conditions that surround delicate political issues and recognizes that the overall goal of ending abortion may not be best served by only electing politicians who outwardly define themselves as being pro-life. There are numerous factors involved with every politician and these must be weighed together in order to determine the validity of candidates. However, these are my opinions - they are my beliefs.

Welcome to the new Conservative Guard

2011-11-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the new look of the Conservative Guard!

It has been quite a while since I have last been on Blogger and it feels good to be back. I hope that you will enjoy reading this blog and will comment respectively to the rantings and ravings of a young-adult who is irritated by a lot of things. This blog exists primarily to heighten awareness about contemporary political issues and and to comment on society and life. It is necessary for me to begin by informing the reader about my own background. I am a Roman Catholic convert from Lutheranism and my faith is intensely personal to who I am as a human being. I am a full-time university student going to school in Ohio. I am originally from a small town in New Hampshire and New England has impressed itself upon my identity. I am a student of Philosophy and History and I am in a constant search for the truth. I believe in the power of beauty and I am willing to listen to anyone, regardless of their persuasion, as long as they are actively pursuing the truth. I am deeply interested in American and international politics and I do not solely align with any political party, as I find disagreements with both of the main political parties in the United States. That is about all that I will say for now. I hope that we will get to know each other better through the progression of this blog and I anticipate receiving comments from you all.

Thanks for reading and God Bless, as always, in Christ

The Conservative Guard

Religion and Politics

Welcome to the new Conservative Guard