Faith, Politics, and the 2010 Election (NPR)

NPR did a story today on the Brookings Institutes study on religion and its effect on the 2010 elections.

Do you think that Obama's religious views are similar to yours? Here's what the study said:

The survey found that 51 percent of Americans saw the president’s religious views as different from their own, including 16 percent who saw them as “somewhat” different and 35 percent who saw them as “very different.” Only 40 percent see the president’s religious beliefs as similar to their own, including only 12 percent who saw them as “very” similar.  This question sharply divides Americans along racial lines: 74 percent of African-Americans see the president’s religious views as similar to their own, compared with just 35 percent of white Americans.

We do not want to exaggerate the importance of these new religious divisions. Views on the nature of President Obama’s religious faith parallel political attitudes toward the president.  Voters who are hostile to him on political grounds are likely to distance themselves from his views on other matters, including religion.  In the PRRI survey, 94 percent of those who said Obama’s religious views were “very similar” to their own had a favorable view of the president.  Among respondents who said his religious views were “very different” from their own, 78 percent had an unfavorable view of him.

What does this even mean? I guess since Obama states that he is a Christian and believes in God, I would have to say that his views are "very different" from my own. But I have a generally favorable view of him. I just don't get it. If you're a theist, and you claim to be a Christian, I guess your views are pretty similar to people who make similar claims. I just don't get it all of this fuss over IMAGINARY CHARACTERS!!!!

Coincidentally, American Exceptionalism was also mentioned in the report. A shocking 6 in 10 people believe America is a chosen nation, singled-out by God for a special mission in the world. Wow. That's kind of scary. I mean... that's clearly embedded in our national psyche and that freaks me out. What is our mission? What is it that we are supposed to do out there? And are our current engagements even copacetic with that idea? Is a war in Afghanistan and Iraq conducive to a special mission in the world? If this is what a majority of Americans believe, how come we aren't doing more to make the world a better place???

What scares me is that a large part of these surveyed people might actually believe in Armageddon. Is that what our mission is really all about? Spooky.

User Comments Make My Brain Hurt

I once read in a magazine article that a New Year's Resolution should be to STOP READING USER COMMENTS. On every Yahoo News article or YouTube video, there are dozens of idiots espousing opinions that they would never dare to voice in person. If the topic at hand happens to be about religion or politics, you can throw all logic and reason and basic civility out the window.

Recently, I stumbled upon this article that stated that the majority of Republicans believe that Obama sympathizes with Islamic goals. A whopping 59% believe that Obama favors Muslim Americans over other groups. I don't even know how this "reasoning" occurs.

According to the poll, 14 percent of Republicans said that from what they knew of Obama, they thought such allegations were "definitely true"; 38 percent thought the allegations were "probably true." Meanwhile, 33 percent of Republicans thought they were "probably not true" and 7 percent thought they were "definitely not true." Asked whether Obama favors the interests of Muslim Americans over other groups of Americans, 59 percent Republicans said yes, whereas 34 percent said he has "generally been evenhanded."

For realsies????? The article was bad enough, but then when I went down to read the comments... OH, MAN. I really wanted to punch myself in the face so I could forget what I had read. This is the one that made me throw my hands up:

I voted for this knucklehead since the primaries and have regretted it for a while. He is a muslim sympathizer. He reaches out to the Muslim world by saying a Mosque is o.k, by hosting Ramadan dinners at the White House. This imbecil bowed to the Saudi king. How pathetic!!!!

Thanks "Steve." What really surprises me is that he voted for Obama when he has such ridiculous views. Um, yeah, of course a Mosque is OK. They are allowed to build anywhere they want, zoning restrictions considered. And if you want to talk about a President that was good buddies with Saudi Arabia, look no further than the darling Bush family.

From http://archive.popandpolitics.com/tag/religion/

But the thing that gets me about this is that President Obama has been adamant from the beginning that he is a Christian. But honestly, I think he is a Christian/Theist for political reasons only. Given Obama's life experiences and religious history, I've always had the gut reaction that he is a bit of an agnostic...perhaps the sort of humanist that Thomas Jefferson was. I love the Jeffersonian Bible. It takes out all the mysticism and leaves only the nice, pleasant philosophy of the New Testament...the "love your neighbor" kind of stuff that Jesus supposedly preached.

Most importantly, I just appreciate having a President who doesn't inject his religious beliefs into everything he does. Unlike certain leaders, I'm relieved that Obama doesn't believe that he's on a mission from God. I'm glad that he doesn't believe that military involvement in the Middle East will bring about the Apocalypse so that all good believers can go to heaven. I don't care if Obama is a "real" Christian... but to fear him and believe that he favors Muslims over all other Americans??? It's on such a level of absurdity that I don't even know how to deal with it.