Post by Keith on Jun 6, 2007 17:07:42 GMT -8
Church participation within elections is a very interesting thing. Various churches that are part of a much larger congregation tend to endorse candidates looking out for their views. Currently, the GOP's base consists of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or W.A.S.P. for short. Another term would be for a W.A.S.P. could be a White Conservative Christian. But, W.A.S.P.s can vote either way. In the south, the W.A.S.P.s tend to vote to the right while the W.A.S.P.s up north tend to vote to the left.
The biggest example of church participation and the voting trend between churchgoers took place around the 2004 Presidential Election between G.W. Bush and John F. Kerry. Bush is a Protestant while Kerry is a Catholic. Faith plays a big role in the Presidential races. Bush got a good number of the votes from the Southern Baptists while Kerry got a good number of votes from the Catholics on the east coast. But that can only take you so far.
The church managed to make "morals" the number one topic in the '04 election. Not only did it give the church especially the Evangelical Christian Church a good amount of power, it affected voting trends. For example there were big issues that were overlooked such as Iraq, medicare, employment, and other subjects. Instead, they were overshadowed by issues such as abortion rights and gay marriage which were considered no-nos in the church.
Kerry himself is against abortion, but he would allow abortions if he got elected President. Both the Protestant and Catholic church pounded on him. Catholics out west tend to vote Republican from what I have heard. And the various church congregations rallied together to vote for Bush because he was against gay marriages, gay adoptions, and other gay rights.
It was most present within the Southeast United States which is dubbed the "bible-belt" of the country. The people in charge of the various congregations aren't stupid and they definitely know what they can do with their power and influence. Through voting, the various congregations can indirectly impose their beliefs on other people. The congregation members have been educated on the candidates and focused on the "morals" they represent. They also focused on various amendments as well. There are a lot of voters that weren't aware of the various amendments in the Florida State Constitution and the church took advantage of it.
One amendment that passed was that when a girl gets an abortion, the parents have to get contacted. That's a direction violation of the girl's privacy right there.
Though it looks to be a violation on the separation of church and state, but you're going to have to make nice-nice to a certain extent with various religious organizations and congregations. The Democrats do the same thing. I happened to work the John Kerry Campaign out in Florida for a few weeks. Luckily, it was nearing election night which was when things get very busy. One of the guys I had worked with who's from Washington DC did a good job getting together with ministers from various congregations mainly consisting of Blacks. Blacks are the main base of the Democratic Party. Everybody else swings either way.
While the Republicans got mainly the White churches together, the Democrats got the other congregations together. The reason "morals" became the number one issue was because of Ohio. Ohio was the one state that determined who won the Presidency. From what my mom told me, there's a huge Evangelical Christian community in Ohio. They voted for Bush mainly because of taking away abortion and gay rights.
What boosted the GOP so far were religious zealots such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Ann Coulter trying to force their radical religious views upon other people. They managed to align their followers and supporters to vote "right" meaning to vote for G.W. Bush. They're saying that Bush is imposing God's will so vote for him. People like then can really affect the output of voters that show up at the polls. One prime example was what's going on in the Middle East, with them preaching how we're going to make the Middle East "Godfearing."
But it all sums up is that the church is an extremely powerful ally in elections. They can make or break an election. Doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat, if you're not representing their views and beliefs, they're just going to stay home during election night.
Keep in mind there is a "religious right" and a "religious left."
Religious right mainly consists of W.A.S.P.s with Neo-Conservative views. Their focus is mainly on imposing their views and beliefs on other people. They think their "morals" are more important than anything or anybody else.
Religious left is more humanist and focuses more on other people. It's more interfaith such as Judaists, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus, and various other congregations. But they focus on stuff such as the environment, combating rapid unemployment, education, etc.
Churches and political parties have one thing in common, they're not going to support you unless they feel you can strongly represent their views.
www.helium.com/tm/305346/church-participation-within-elections
The biggest example of church participation and the voting trend between churchgoers took place around the 2004 Presidential Election between G.W. Bush and John F. Kerry. Bush is a Protestant while Kerry is a Catholic. Faith plays a big role in the Presidential races. Bush got a good number of the votes from the Southern Baptists while Kerry got a good number of votes from the Catholics on the east coast. But that can only take you so far.
The church managed to make "morals" the number one topic in the '04 election. Not only did it give the church especially the Evangelical Christian Church a good amount of power, it affected voting trends. For example there were big issues that were overlooked such as Iraq, medicare, employment, and other subjects. Instead, they were overshadowed by issues such as abortion rights and gay marriage which were considered no-nos in the church.
Kerry himself is against abortion, but he would allow abortions if he got elected President. Both the Protestant and Catholic church pounded on him. Catholics out west tend to vote Republican from what I have heard. And the various church congregations rallied together to vote for Bush because he was against gay marriages, gay adoptions, and other gay rights.
It was most present within the Southeast United States which is dubbed the "bible-belt" of the country. The people in charge of the various congregations aren't stupid and they definitely know what they can do with their power and influence. Through voting, the various congregations can indirectly impose their beliefs on other people. The congregation members have been educated on the candidates and focused on the "morals" they represent. They also focused on various amendments as well. There are a lot of voters that weren't aware of the various amendments in the Florida State Constitution and the church took advantage of it.
One amendment that passed was that when a girl gets an abortion, the parents have to get contacted. That's a direction violation of the girl's privacy right there.
Though it looks to be a violation on the separation of church and state, but you're going to have to make nice-nice to a certain extent with various religious organizations and congregations. The Democrats do the same thing. I happened to work the John Kerry Campaign out in Florida for a few weeks. Luckily, it was nearing election night which was when things get very busy. One of the guys I had worked with who's from Washington DC did a good job getting together with ministers from various congregations mainly consisting of Blacks. Blacks are the main base of the Democratic Party. Everybody else swings either way.
While the Republicans got mainly the White churches together, the Democrats got the other congregations together. The reason "morals" became the number one issue was because of Ohio. Ohio was the one state that determined who won the Presidency. From what my mom told me, there's a huge Evangelical Christian community in Ohio. They voted for Bush mainly because of taking away abortion and gay rights.
What boosted the GOP so far were religious zealots such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Ann Coulter trying to force their radical religious views upon other people. They managed to align their followers and supporters to vote "right" meaning to vote for G.W. Bush. They're saying that Bush is imposing God's will so vote for him. People like then can really affect the output of voters that show up at the polls. One prime example was what's going on in the Middle East, with them preaching how we're going to make the Middle East "Godfearing."
But it all sums up is that the church is an extremely powerful ally in elections. They can make or break an election. Doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat, if you're not representing their views and beliefs, they're just going to stay home during election night.
Keep in mind there is a "religious right" and a "religious left."
Religious right mainly consists of W.A.S.P.s with Neo-Conservative views. Their focus is mainly on imposing their views and beliefs on other people. They think their "morals" are more important than anything or anybody else.
Religious left is more humanist and focuses more on other people. It's more interfaith such as Judaists, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus, and various other congregations. But they focus on stuff such as the environment, combating rapid unemployment, education, etc.
Churches and political parties have one thing in common, they're not going to support you unless they feel you can strongly represent their views.
www.helium.com/tm/305346/church-participation-within-elections