Thanks for this thread, sid.  It's coming together for me. I'm trying to get to the place where I can say what I think about this without causing the mothers in the audience to cover their kid's ears. I feel that people of different faiths have entirely different and often irreconcilable understandings of the universe they live in. I'm living in a Newtonian, Lockeian, Einsteinian universe. My neighbor down the road is living in a Lord of the Ringsian universe with magic stuff going on around him, angels and demons fighting it out invisibly in the sky.  We're not ever going to agree about the nature of the universe, and yet we have to live together in some kind of peace.  Is there some way we can at least agree about the nature of our country? Or in the end does it all come down to which view of the universe has the most guns and ammunition?

I wouldn't care about any politician's religion if they would just keep it in their home and church/synagogue/mosque and not try to inflict it on those of us who believe differently or don't believe at all.  In other words, put the Constitution and their duty to represent ALL their constituents (not just those that voted for them, not just those who share the same religion) above their god.  And if they cannot or will not do that, they should get out of politics and maybe become ministers instead.

I'd be happy if I didn't know about a politician's religious preferences, but if they are going to advertise/proselytize those preferences, then it does matter because it tells me they are letting them bleed into their political decision making.

In the UK, the religious affiliation of our politicians is irrelevant and I'm fairly certain any politician attempting to use their religious beliefs as a platform would damage their political careers massively.

On a potentially controversial spin-off ......

For some time I have held the view that for some Americans, America itself is their religion.

• The Founding Fathers are cited and revered as infallible apostles and prophets.
• The Constitution is their Scripture.
• The Stars and Stripes their cross, worshipped with the reverence and ceremony normally reserved for holy objects and artefacts.
• The Military their martyrs.

To question or criticise any of the above is met with cries tantamount to "intolerable blasphemy!"
How could God resist an affiliation with such a force?



*Gets out of Dodge before the posse saddles up*

I hadn't thought of that FF.... So I guess "God Bless America" and "I'm Proud To Be An American" are hymns?
Don't worry brother... I'm saddlin' up with ya!  

Conservatives = Fundamentalists and Liberals = Reformationists?

Bring plenty ammo! This could get nasty.

There again, you're ahead of me. I guess the independents could be considered "heathen"...
Are you kiddin..? I'd never saddle up without my guns!

In Germany the religious affiliation of their politicians is mostly irrelevant except in the Free State of Bavaria (incidentally the same State where Austria's famous son Adolf got his kick start and....hmmm...the current pope). There you've got to be one of them Catholics if you want to get the cushy jobs in the State government.
Of course, the CONservative parties run the usual scam for the ignorant by either using "Christian" in their party name (like 'Christian Social Union' and 'Christian Democratic Union') or going straight with some 'National' ueber-patriotic nonsense.

Independents are lost souls destined for purgatory/Alaska

I'm not a big fan of guns, I was just gonna throw the ammo at them. Apparently it's expensive now. While they're scrambling about in the dirt picking it up we can dress up in burkas and head for Pakistan. I read about a guy who did that once and he's still not been caught.

If you ever do, pictures please!

I knew he'd come around eventually Jab. .

Joking aside and back on topic ...........

Political power and religion have almost always been inter-dependants.
Both are concerned with controlling the masses.
The priests invest the mortal lords with spiritual sanction and protection and are repaid with material status, wealth and protection.
A chess board sums it up perfectly, the powerful are guarded by pawns backed up by castles and military but their closest allies are the bishops.

How thoroughly Murrican of them.
  

Ok all you furriners, here's the deal from an American- I don't know why anybody cares what your religious beliefs are even if you are a politician or not.  Two historical problems in American politics were these- if you were Catholic, the opposition painted you as someone who would take your orders from the Pope and impose them on the country, and if you were Jewish, you would always side with Isreal but that is ok because the Christians all side with Isreal too because that is where Jesus is from.  Then along came Newt Gingrich with his "family values."  but the real infusion of religion into American politics came with Karl Rove and his theory that you get a lot of votes if you could get religious leaders to tell their congregations to vote for you.

All of our countries had religion problems in their early years, except maybe Canada.  However, I noticed in Canada that the Catholics have a great deal of influence in Quebec, and even in Toronto everything was closed on Easter and the bars closed early on Good Friday.  We didn't even have that in good old Puritan Catholic Masssachusetts!

There is a caveat for separation of church and state FOR A REASON ~ a problem for me with politicians TOUTING ANY religion is that the vast majority seem to talk the talk but do NOT walk the walk ~ all religion more or less invites bigotry ~ I remember when Lieberman [whom I actively despise] was running with Gore ~ Lieberman is an observant [highly conservative if not orthodox] Jew ~ he was asked what he would do if a national emergency happened on a Saturday [the Jewish sabbath] ~ that annoyed the hell out of me because I've never seen an allegedly staunch Christian candidate asked what he would do if a national emergency happened on a Sunday ~

Great point about Rove, queenie ~

Sooz

BTW, personally I don't give flying fig what religion or no religion anyone practices ~ I deeply believe that there are good and bad everything, including in religiosos, atheists, and agnostics ~ and I am absolutely certain that NO single religion [or category, i.e. "Christian"] or ism has the right to claim "best/most morality, decency, compassion" ~

Sooz

I experienced your cultural irreverance first hand- I was visiting my (now ex) in laws in Toronto over Easters past.  I once spent a holiday with two very drunken sailors out on the lake playing chicken with a Russian tanker.  You don't have to convince me of your prowess for partying!

However, I noticed in Canada that the Catholics have a great deal of influence in Quebec

Having spent over 40 of my 63 years living in Quebec, methinks you're a wee bit behind the times.

Perhaps oskar- during my visit to Montreal and Mt Tremblant last year I noticed less of it than when I was young and went to church even during vacation.