Poll: U.S. embraces religion (backs clergy's sway in public policy)

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/060705dnnatreligion.2e92986fb.html


Americans are far more likely to consider religion central to their lives and to support giving clergy a say in public policy than people in nine countries that are close allies, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.

Almost 40 percent in this country said religious leaders should try to sway policymakers, notably higher than in other countries.

Still, 61 percent said they didn't think religious leaders should influence government decisions

[slay]

1. America is looking PRIME for a Nazi like takeover

Thank god we don't have any right-wing fanatics in office. Right? RIGHT? Ut-oh... :(

[TaleWgnDg]

2. Hhhhhmmmmmm . . .

.


been there, done that . . .


.

[expatriot]

3. Another example of schizophrenic America....

majority believe that religious leaders should try and influence policymakers, majority also believes religious leaders shouldn't affect government decisions. I love the indecisive middle in America, where you can see there himm-hawwing around in the course of one poll interview.... "well, I guess if you put the question like THAT..."

[merwin]

4. Uh, isn't this the exact reason that the United States exists? To NOT

have religion in government?

I think that needs to be brought up by someone important next time they try to say "Our forefathers wanted religion in the government!"

[teryang]

5. What I find interesting is how many of my criminal clients

...are such strong Christians. While they are out injuring and stealing from others they claim to be Christians. God bless you they tell the judge trying to avoid a prison term. They have little religious sayings on their telephone answering machines which you can get while they're out bouncing checks, doing cocaine or beating their family members.

[iconoclastic cat]

6. Now, with a tease like that, you have to give us a story!

Does any one instance come to mind?

[teryang]

7. Several instances come directly to mind

...I'll add drunk driving to the list. Some people call it religion found in the jailhouse but I find it on phone messages of those out on bond as well. People with a rap sheet continued on page two claim to be religious.

Now that I've given it more thought, I'd say its a Rasputinish form of Christianity, meant to manipulate others while man's evil nature has its way. How can we be forgiven if we do not sin? It allows one to maintain the posture of moral rectitude while doing harm.

[iconoclastic cat]

8. While I agree with your thesis about these HypnoChristians,

I still want a story!

[teryang]

18. Well..............

I'd rather not get into details but I'll tell one petty tale. There were two feuding neighbors between whom no amount of love was lost. The white male (the putative Christian) was the defendant and the black female living next door was the complainant. They were distantly related by an interracial marriage of their respective relatives. A white relative on the one side of the family married an Afro-American on the other side.

The Xtian, "god bless you sir" was accused of having a small penis in one neighborly confrontation which was the conditioned response to the recriminations of the white Christian as to why would someone in his family marry a f..k..g n.....r. As the small penis remark was made (in front of the females minor children) the Christian whipped out his member, balls and all, and shook it around, so that all could see he wasn't small, in a lewd gesture of animal aggression.

This wasn't the first time our Christian had exposed himself in lewd manner. This was a fine example of christian love and treating your neighbors as one would like to be treated.

[iconoclastic cat]

19. Wow! That's freakin' insane!

Thanks for the story. People really are nuts, aren't they?

[MisterP]

16. "Fristianity" is what it's called

God is used as a bludgeon here

[ChrisK]

9. Didn't we break from England for this reason?

I thought we wanted freedom FROM religon?

And "sway" and "influence"?...one in the same,right?

Good thing the people answering this poll were bright enough to understand the questions :eyes:

[July]

10. Interesting headline, given that a clear majority went w/"should NOT"

{my emphasis on NOT)

Just looking at the charts because I didn't want to register, but isn't the headline more than a little misleading?

The U.S. shows a greater percentage saying that religious leaders should influence government decisions, but that percentage is 37%, compared to 61% who say they should not. How does that add up to "backs clergy's sway in public policy"?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. I guess we're the only two who noticed.

:shrug:

[rainbow4321]

15. The stuff I put in parethesis..

was the second part of the article's headlines..it reads (in smaller print below the article title):

"Americans outpace allies in backing clergy's sway in public policy"


The whole sentence would not fit in the subject head along w/ the article title.

[Roland99]

17. 37% is now almost 40% and means a majority??

[GOPFighter]

11. This is an intriguing poll

Especially from an atheist's standpoint. We all know that many, many Americans turned to religion to help them cope with the trauma of 9/11. Since then we've seen a political party nakedly (shamelessly) embrace fundamentalist Christianity to mask it's evil agenda.

Given all this, we should heave a sigh of relief that 61% of Americans don't believe religious leaders should try to influence government policy.

Also, we have no way of knowing if some of the 37% who think religion should influence policy are liberals who attend churches that oppose war, the death penalty, etc. These churches opposition to the Vietnam War back in the late 1960s-early 70s helped end the war. In fact, many of the frothing-at-the-mouth fundamentalists who want laws passed to allow their preachers to endorse political candidates should be careful what they wish for. Liberal churches could do the same and may again, someday, overwhelm the fundies in their influence in American politics.

[Ian David]

13. "Tolerance" becomes harder when someone else's religion bosses you around

A very good reason to keep one's religion out of politics is so that less people will want to kill you.

That's an important lesson from History.

[Igel]

14. The obvious way the French, a democracy, keep religious

leaders from influencing their government is by ignoring their religious leaders.

Falwell has little more influence over Congress, *, Cheney, and Chirac than my friend Lynn does. If 30% of Americans want religious leaders to influence public policy, then religious leaders do--politicians are myopic creatures, little better than moles, and look to the next election. If Ghandi were the "religious" leader for 40% of Americans or Germans, * or Schroeder would be quoting Ghandi; if not, the next elected leader would cite Ghandi as the philosopher he most respected.