Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am an Independent but nothing turns me off more about the Republican party than their hypocritical rhetoric about God, morals and values. Why is this party so concerned about religion? I have a few friends from Europe and they do not understand why some Americans are so obsessed with religion. I have been to some countries like Sweden, Norway and these are very civilized countries, nobody cares about religion and everything seems to work just fine.I was a big supporter of Jesse Ventura when he was elected here in Minnesota and I will never forget what he said about religion, "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers". This is the kind of person I want in the White House
So lets look at this argument for a second.
How many 1000's of years has religion been an everyday thing to people? How many 100's of years has this atheism been apart of any living civilization as it has been recently with the theories of evolution?
It's funny how the Right gets all worked up about "Constitutional Rights" when it applies to things like having GUNS but this little thing called "Seperation of Church & State" just doesn't compute to them.
I just saw a piece on the news about how so many "Churches" (and I use that term loosely) took the opportunity to support McCain on Sunday that the IRS is now investigating to take away their tax exempt status - I say THANK GOD. That's what they deserve because they are not Churches and heck - the country could use their $!
Do you even have a clue about history and how much religion has played a role in the lives of our presidents?
Unfortunately, we are the minority. I do not believe religion should play any part of politics. Wasn't that the whole point of us leaving England, not to have religion jammed down our throats? Go figure...
They wanted religion not to effect government but wanted people to have the right to practice it if wished. I think this is the point people forget. You seem to think government back then didn't have religious people in it. They were able to keep religion out of it for a long time and heck even up to now.
Which is the party trying to remove the most rights? Count em up and get back to me.
Last edited by BigJon3475; 09-29-2008 at 08:28 AM..
Reason: correction
What do you think are the chances for a candidate to be elected if he declares himself as an atheist?
If everyone in America voted 20% of the population as a guess. If he started spouting off things like the bible/koran have no place in America forget it.
I am a Republican and I get very upset about the right wing of the party bringing religion into issue discussions. Yes, if you are a religious person, that will shape your ideals, but sadly, the people w/ the loudest voices seem to be "extreme" in their beliefs.
A good leader should not pander to ANY GROUP of people - whether religious or in one sector of business. A good leader is someone who makes it clear that he/she stands on the Constitution - and whatever personal religious beliefs he/she has - are something private.
At least, that is how I see it. I don't want anyone pushing their religious beliefs on me - so I wish people would just leave that alone. Not up for discussion! But it seems so many make issues like Abortion a litmus test to determine whether a person is "their kind" when it comes to religion.
I think Libertarians represent my ideals better than Neocons. It appears the Republican party has been overtaken by the religious right . . . leaving moderates like me out in the cold. You see, I believe I can practice my religious beliefs how I see fit w/o it spilling over into government issues. Same for candidates. So why some people want to mix up religion and legislation . . . in direct opposition of separation of church and state - is just confusing to me. Separation of church and state protects ALL Americans - regardless of religion. I don't want a Theocracy and I want the Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu to be protected as American citizens just like the Christian and Jew are protected. I don't understand why there are some who don't realize the importance of keeping a wall b/n religion and politics.
I am an Independent but nothing turns me off more about the Republican party than their hypocritical rhetoric about God, morals and values. Why is this party so concerned about religion? I have a few friends from Europe and they do not understand why some Americans are so obsessed with religion. I have been to some countries like Sweden, Norway and these are very civilized countries, nobody cares about religion and everything seems to work just fine.I was a big supporter of Jesse Ventura when he was elected here in Minnesota and I will never forget what he said about religion, "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers". This is the kind of person I want in the White House
I agree 100% (and thanks for the quote; Ventura just went up dramatically in my estimation simply from reading that!). I too am an Independent and as far as belief systems go, I'm a non-theist. So I am extremely put off when any politician not only plays the religion card but practically wears it on his or her chest like the king or queen in a poker deck. Palin's fundamentalist views are what finally booted me off the fence and into either the Dem or write-in camp for this particular election.
Also it's a shame that people have such a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to those who don't believe in a deity. The "atheist" label gets slapped on, no matter whether or not it is true. I describe myself as a non-theist because there's a big difference between an atheist and a non-theist. The word "atheist" means "against god". I'm not against any god nor against anyone else in the world who worships any god. I'm a NON-theist which means that I, personally, don't believe that there is or has ever been an entity with the characteristics that mankind describes as godlike.
While I do agree that it's unlikely that a true ATHEIST (meaning someone whose philosophy is that the worship of any god is wrong and who has any kind of crusade against those who believe in a deity) will ever become President in the foreseable future, I do hope that someday our nation will become enlightened enough to nominate or elect a NON-THEIST (meaning someone who personally does not believe in a god but is tolerant of any and all who do have religious beliefs) to that office.
I am an Independent but nothing turns me off more about the Republican party than their hypocritical rhetoric about God, morals and values. Why is this party so concerned about religion? I have a few friends from Europe and they do not understand why some Americans are so obsessed with religion. I have been to some countries like Sweden, Norway and these are very civilized countries, nobody cares about religion and everything seems to work just fine.I was a big supporter of Jesse Ventura when he was elected here in Minnesota and I will never forget what he said about religion, "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers". This is the kind of person I want in the White House
No, no, no, NOT Jesse !!
However, Republicans talk about "god" all the time because a person can, and does, excuse any behaviour if they just repeat like a robot, "It's God's Will.""
or in the case of SaraToddRobot, "It's god's plan"....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
!! 
