Posted on 02/19/2012 4:53:22 PM PST by Andy from Chapel Hill
57% of Republicans are Protestant and 23% are Catholic, if I read the data at Pew Research correctly.
Today, after church (Presbyterian, but thinking about joining an unaffilated church), a group of us older and more conservative men began discussing the lack of enthusiasm among the Republican base for any of the current candidates. One fellow said "I am not Catholic because I do not agree with the Catholic Church's teachings and I am not Mormon because I do not want to be a Mormon". Others generally agreed and said that the candidate's religion mattered a lot.
Is the talk about a contested convention and the possibility of candidates like Palin, Jeb Bush, etc. really a front for a movement toward a Protestant candidate?
I know I will be flamed for asking this question, but please consider it as a question that the base is considering.
Disclosure: Among the group, I like Newt the best, but in a contested convention, I would prefer someone new paired with Paul Ryan as VP (Ryan is a Catholic).
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Mr obama the muslim is definitely not worried about white irish catholics, just ask Moochelle
It is an interesting question. Perhaps Protestants sense their own churches surrender in the culture war and have hope that a reservoir of Biblical morality exists among Catholics?
Doesn’t annoy me but if the candidate’s religion is going to be the deciding issue, we deserve to lose.
I’m a Protestant and have no problem with Catholics. They aren’t trying to force Catholic doctrine on me so I really don’t care as long as they’re unapologetic Christians
It is an interesting question. Perhaps Protestants sense their own churches surrender in the culture war and have hope that a reservoir of Biblical morality exists among Catholics?
I don’t care about the religious aspect a tenth as much as I care whether or not the candidate is a genuine American - that is, one who loves and supports our Constitution, our legal heritage and our historic culture and traditions.
As far as religion goes, anything within the sphere of the Judeo-Christian faith is fine. Most pols, however, list their ‘faith’ as a boiler plate part of their political CV.
It is the political views, and the character of the candidate that matter the most to me. These standards, and knowing the kind of folks the candidate chooses for advisors, and the kind of person he or she might choose for the Supremes, tells me more about a candidate than what religion the person professes.
I’m glad I’m not as narrow-minded as some people, otherwise the only presidential candidate I could have voted for was Michael Dukakis.
Rick and Newt are Catholic, Mitt is Mormon. The only protestant amongst the bunch in Paul. And he hardly advertises it.
That is exactly right.
Conservatives better wake the Hell up and fast.
These little stupid, useless side issues don’t matter a hill of beans when we are about 5 minutes away from living in Nazi, America.
One thing I have to give Obama credit for is that he has exposed in no uncertain terms whatsoever exactly how stupid the right in this country is.
That's one Protestant I could never support and his religion has absolutely nothing to do with it.
I don’t think older conservative (white) men are much of a voting bloc, so their opinion on Protestant, Catholic, or Mormon probably counts for very little. Best just consider voting for anyone except Obama and forget the details.
“Religion” matters because anyone to be trusted with the power of the US Presidency MUST know that he or she is accountable to a “Higher Power”. Whom they choose to be accountable to truly matters.
Is it the God of the Bible whom they love, revere and, yes, fear, or is some wanna-be imposter?
Most avoided is a candidate who perceives themselves as the supreme authority.
I’m pretty suspicious of the constant attempts to drive a wedge between Catholics and Protestants. That benefits only the democrats and Satan.
As a former RC and now evangelical, i am quite sure it has little to do with the candidates religion, but the quality overall. Although faith does matter a lot, you are not dealing with a monolithic group.
But Santorum’s recent affirmation of the President as being a Christian testifies to his lack of discernment.
Maybe they consider Obama to be a Protestant, and we all know he would be the best one to lead our country...... to HELL
Who cares? As long as they understand that this country and the Constitution and laws of this country are based on Judeo-Christian values and that when they swear on the Bible to uphold that Constitution and the laws of the country, it really means something. Obama can lie to succeed in his goals because his religion (or lack thereof) clearly condones that.
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