Citizen of the Month » Republican Religiosity

Republican Religiosity

Note: Sophia suggested that I take this post down since it wasn’t in the spirit of the Holidays, especially since it is the post right after the big Holiday concert. I did take it down, and then I remembered, from past experience, that everyone will just see it on Bloglines and Google Reader anyway, and I’ll just look like a wimp. So, I put it back up. Proud of me?

Unlike the Queen of Spain, who enjoys a little religious controversy now and then (see her current post), I’m a lover more than a fighter. My point here isn’t to attack any religion, especially all you nice religious Christians and Jews who just sang your hearts out for everyone to hear, but to acknowledge that everyone’s religion is sort of weird if you really sit down and think about it. That’s why it is called “faith.” So, I’m not sure what Mitt Romney’s Mormon religion has to do with anything. If I’m not going to vote for him, it’s because he’s a lousy candidate, not a Mormon.

OK, here’s the mediocre post. It was difficult coming up with a topic after the concert, because everything I came up with seemed anti-climactic.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he considers his rival Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith a religion, not a cult, but questioned whether Mormons believe “Jesus and the devil are brothers.”

Huckabee raised the question on his own in an interview to appear in The New York Times magazine on Sunday, and ignited a new flap in the up-for-grabs race to be the Republican Party’s nominee in the November 2008 presidential election.

Clearly, Mike Huckabee, needing to jumpstart his campaign, is insinuating that Romney is not fit to be President because of Romney’s religious background. He’s just not one of us!

Am I Republican? No.

Will I vote for Mitt Romney? No.

Do I agree with Mike Huckabee? Absolutely.

The President of the United States is the most important position in the Free World. We want a rational leader, one is is not swayed by “odd” beliefs or cultish stories masquerading as the truth. Do we want a religious “Mormon” running our country, his finger on the “button.” Of course not! Just take a “tour” of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City on the way to Park City, like I did, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Our country requires someone logical, someone we can trust, like a Christian or Jew, a person of religion who believes in FACT — proven historical events like immaculate conception, individuals getting resurrected, angels, and entire seas magically splitting open to let thousands of people walk through to safety.

A Year Ago on Citizen of the Month: Why a Pillow is No Substitute for a Woman

Tags: 2008 Election, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Mormon, religion, Republicans

28 Comments so far
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Don’t forget the eight days of oil.

Hey, that really happened!

That’s it? Did you finish this post? It seems incomplete. I’m either confused, tired or both. Happy Holidays Neil!

…and I thought *I* would be causing a stir. ROFL.

But I agree…not voting for anyone who talks about God theirs or anyone elses…too much.

OK. So the oil thing really happened. What about the guy in the whale?

And trickle-down economic theory? Isn’t that a question of faith?

I think you need to read the books written by Lee Strobel.

Because, dude.

There is scientific proof of the resurrection, the parting of the sea, etcetera.

Only those who are afraid of the Truth would choose not to read.

I’m just sayin’…

Angella, Angella — I’m not saying these things didn’t happen, I just don’t believe there is scientific proof that it happened (have they found any chariots on the bottom of the Red Sea?), or else they would teach us about these things in elementary school rather than religious school. But, I’m all for reading this author.

I like this post, Neil. You said it so much better than I ever could. Thank you for not wimping out on this one!

Probably Mitt is as “good” a Mormon as Nixon was a Quaker.

But I’m still not voting for him.

We don’t want Mitt Romney to win because he’s a lying scummy bastard that decimated the state of Massachusetts, cutting social programs, especially those geared towards children like DSS and DMH until they can barely survive, never mind serve their populations. I don’t care what the fuck religion he is, he has the integrity of a lemming, he’s the consumate greasy politician that says one thing for one audience and then makes a complete turnabout for another audience. In MA he was prochoice and pro gay rights. Now that he’s supported by the Xian fundies, he’s a rabid antichoice activist and a homophobe to boot. There isn’t a scrupulous bone in his body and NOBODY in Massachusetts will argue that. He destroyed our state while flying about the world campainging. We called him the absent governor. We didn’t realize how much better we were without him.

Glad you put this post back up Neil, and good point Margalit.

In all my lapsed Catholicness (that is SO not a word) I would simply appreciate a candidate who listens to the people, responds to their needs and leads with reason. Is that too much to ask?

Neil for President, Neil for President, Neil for President!

And think of what a campaign would do to your Technorati authority!

Fair points well made if you ask me.
And Marg - what did Lemmings ever do to you??

I loved this. Thanks for putting it back up.

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a non-Christian friend who said the whole God letting his Son be crucified was barbaric and the whole communion as body and blood thing made it worse.

I paused for just a second, and then laughed. He had a good point.

Still a church goer after all these years, but the older and wiser I get, the more I embrace the idea that it’s all a MYSTERY.

Personally, I find a religious Mormon running the country just as scary as a Southern Baptist Minister (Huckabee), a practicing Orthodox Jew (Libermann) or a Muslim Imam (no candidate yet). I don’t think one is necessarily worse than the others.

I love that sarcasm of yours. Great post.

Shash

Religion has everything to do with national politics in this country: Those who admit they don’t believe in God cannot get elected in this country.

(Good post, Neil.)

Glad you left this up.

I am hoping for the “Golden Rule” candidate. No god, no devil, and it’s much more convenient than 10 rules you carry around on heavy slabs.

Yeah, I’m getting tired of the news spinning the candidates’ religious beliefs to drum up stories. I think most of us are smart enough (then again, maybe that’s my own brand of blind faith) to vote based on the issues.

You scared me for a minute there since I was taking you seriously. I was relieved to see your closing punch and agree with you that ALL religions have their ample share of crazy-ass stories that defy credulity. Many of us just accept the Judeo-Christian ones more easily because we’re part of that culture, because the stories are so far in the past, and because Cecil B. DeMille has made mainstream movies about them. I would never vote for Huckabee or Romney but it has nothing to do with their religions.

On the other hand, that stuff about Joseph Smith finding those ancient religious artifacts buried in upstate New York in the 1820s is some crazy shit. But I love the Osmonds so the LDS church can’t be that bad…

(P.S. I think following your concert of unity and religious tolerance with this provocative post is brilliance!)

Neil, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Of course, I doubt we’re going to have an atheist president anytime soon, or even agnostic…But a girl can dream!

Of course, if I follow my own argument, there should be nothing wrong with a Scientologist President either. God help us.

In the words of SECULAR singer,

“You gotta have faith….oooooh, ya gotta have fa-a-a-a-a-ith.”

What I can’t prove my heart proves for me, BUT I couldn’t disagree with you more about a Christian president - or a Jewish president - or a president who has ANY MORAL INTEGRITY.

Just NOT a woman.
Sorry, I just don’t want a woman president.

BlogHer members, please contact OMSH, not me. I’m all for a woman president. Golda Meir. Margaret Thatcher. Case closed.

You know what I’d like to see in a president? Someone well-rounded — someone with some worldliness — someone with a TRUE appreciation for cultural diversity — someone with some demonstrated diplomatic skill, someone well-read (including newspapers, George W.!!) Someone, who despite his/her faith being Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or whatever, is educated enough to have taken some sort of comparative religion and cultural studies courses before striving to become a world leader.

Besides, it doesn’t matter what Christian denomination you are, any of them should know that Jesus and the Devil are not brothers! The Devil is a fallen angel, a supernatural being. Angels are created by God, formed of fire, but they are not his children. They don’t even have belly buttons because they are not “born” they just “are”! Now, if Huckabee had said something about Mormons and their “magic underwear” — then, I might not vote for him, but I would at least respect him for knowing a little bit about what the fuck he was talking about. ;-D

Ooooh Butterfly DO go on.

Does reading news online rate with a newspaper? B/c I’m just not into all that waste.

I would like to say that I read more than the latest post. Especially when I’m enjoying myself, as I have with your blog, and when I’m trying to get to know a blogger. With that said, I loved this post. I’m just about to take off my magic underwear and put pins in my voodoo doll. But after that, I’ll decide who to vote for.

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Neil Kramer is a writer in Los Angeles (well, New York now). Citizen of the Month is his blog. Make yourself at home.

Email and IM:
neilochka at yahoo dot com

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