There are many factors that may affect the upcoming presidentialelection, and religion may be one that helps determine the newleader of the country.
Kirby Goidel, associate professor of mass communication, saidreligion is as much a part of the political process as unions andpolitical parties.
Religion could be a determining factor, but abortion, the gaymarriage amendment and the 18 to 29 age bracket vote also couldplay a role, Goidel said.
Democrats are devoted to the importance of religion in politics,but try not to publicize it or make it a huge part of theircampaigns, Goidel said.
Some Catholics suggest that because Kerry is not anti-abortion,he should be denied communion and people should not vote for him,Goidel said.
Goidel also said churches can lobby members of theircongregation to vote and can influence how they vote. However, itcan turn negative when people get angry because religious leaderstell their congregations how to vote.
Brittany Willis, a chemistry freshman, said people should notmix religion and politics.
“They are on two different ends of the spectrum and should notbe associated with each other,” Willis said.
But Church leaders can impact political processes by askingtheir parishioners to participate, Goidel said. People sometimesare more likely to do something if their church leaders ask themto. It may be a small number of people, but they still areinfluenced.
Robert Hogan, a political science assistant professor, saidreligion is just one of many factors that can affect the way peoplevote.
Hogan said in the past, religious people have made an effort toassemble a group of supporters for President George W. Bush. Thisis called “grassroots mobilization.”
Hogan said some people cast a “single-issue” vote where theyvote based solely on their beliefs on one issue, such as abortion.It is key for some political parties to lobby voters that are notsingle-issue voters, he said.
Some religious leaders try to persuade their congregation tovote for a certain candidate, Hogan said.
“Any time people are mobilized it is a good thing, but theyshould know why they are voting that way,” he said.
Ben Brown, an English and math junior, said religion definitelywill be a determining factor in this year’s presidentialelections.
Since religion exists, people will use it to filter theirdecisions, Brown said.
Father Than Vu at Christ the King Catholic Center said there isa distinction between politics and partisan politics.
Partisan politics are when priests take sides, Vu said. Forexample, it would be okay for a priest to talk about the moralityof war, abortion or politics. But when they focus on a certaincandidate and tell people in the congregation to vote for him, thatis wrong, Vu said.
Goidel said churches could lose their tax-exempt status if theymix with politics too much.
Some priests talk about how faith affects political decisions,but the Catholic church does not, Vu said. “Legally, we’re notsupposed to,” he said. “Then there’s the theological reason –priests are supposed to be spokesmen and unite thecongregation.”
Vu said he would not be credible as a priest if he took onecandidate’s side.
As long as it is clear that the church does not take sides andthat the priests do not speak on behalf of the church, it is OK todiscuss political issues, Vu said.
Rev. Shawn Anglim, campus minister at the Wesley Foundation,said religion definitely is a factor in the elections, and itshould be.
“There is a question of whether or not the role of religion isto run the government,” Anglim said. “It isn’t. Christianity issupposed to stand up for what is good.”
It is OK to encourage legislation and encourage people to vote,but the minister’s role is to proclaim the gospel, Anglim said. Butsometimes people’s values tend to get at the heart of theissue.