Vote for me – I'm a Christian

Religion seems to be the most important issue of the election right now, with candidates giving presentations and interviews about their particular beliefs, in the hopes to convince people to vote for them. My question is… at what point did religion become such a key issue in presidential elections? If you read some blogs and news articles, people point towards George W. Bush, but I blame that answer either on intellectual dishonesty or ignorance. Some point back to John F. Kennedy, who like Mitt Romney, had to hold a press conference explaining his religion and religious views. But even then I would have to disagree. Perhaps we should go back to 1928, with former NY Governor Al Smith who was the Democratic Party nominee for President. He too was a Catholic like Kennedy, and the Protestants of the U.S. viewed him as possibly taking orders from the Vatican.

I’m not sure, since you could say it goes all the way back to the beginning with the need for the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution to protect our right to the Freedom of Religion and that the government would not establish a national religion. Back then, our leaders understood that our nation was going to be the home of multiple religions and that the people should be able to practice their beliefs without intimidation. So, with this Freedom and tolerance, Religion shouldn’t be an issue in politics today, right? Well, maybe not.

Mitt Romney, the first seriously considered Mormon Presidential candidate, was compelled to pull a John F. Kennedy to reassure the nation that his religious beliefs are not extreme or infringe on his ability to lead the nation, even though he’s been a Governor (not to mention that there are approximately 4 Million Mormons currently in the US). Mike Huckabee has to fend off calls for his sermons back when he was a Minister to be released so they could be examined in the hopes of some dirt on him can be found. Barack Obama has to defend his family Muslim ties, even though he himself is a member of the United Church of Christ (not to be confused with the Churches of Christ). Why do three qualified presidential candidates have to defend their religious affiliations? Does the public exposure of a presidential candidate mean their right to Freedom of Religion can be infringed upon by the media?

It is time that the media gets back to focusing on what is important in presidential candidates, and that is what are their views on the issues and what qualifies them for the position. Nowhere in the Constitution is there a religious affiliation requirement to be President, since that would violate the First Amendment. The fact that the President believes that Allah is God, there is no God, aliens exist, there was no big bang, or any other religious-based view does not impact in his ability to protect the nation from threats both foreign and domestic. It is time for a change in the way we cover presidential elections.