justonebreath31

In US History, yeah i'm still in highschool, whatever. My teacher said that there has only been one Catholic president and that was JFK. People don't vote for Catholics for some reason. Some say because of the view on abortion, some say because of the Pope. i want to know what you think. it's interesting because i never knew religion could be such a major factor in running for president.

jeffdrummer

Very good topic interesting. I think that religion does play a big role all but 1 President has taken the oath on the Bible, and they all have been Christian. Of course 80% of the country is Christian, so the odds are for Christians.
I think that we won't see a non-Christian President for years. Just look a Governor Mitt Romney in Mass. He is going to run for President, but many think that even Hillary Rodham Rodham or Barrack Hussein Obama could beat him simply because he is a Mormon. Seeing as so many claim to see past religion, it still seems to play a massive role.

Tumbleweed36

Hi,

While I think that someone who is a Christian will (at least in the near future) be the President, that should not be an issue. What really makes a difference is the positions that a person has. For the majority of Americans at this time, Christians have political viewpoints that are similar to their personal beliefs, so a Christian person will be President.

Does being Catholic make a difference? i just don't think so if the beliefs of that person are interpretated to the public and reflect what the populace wants for the country.

jeffdrummer

Pretty much everyone who is considered a contender (except Romney) is Christian. So yes.

yustr

juston, I’ll try to answer your question by retelling a little story from my wife's Grandmother. She was from North Carolina and lived from about 1890 to 1980.

In her mind the three lowest form of humans were (in order from less bad to worst) blacks (of course she called them something else), Jews, and Catholics. So in her upbringing almost anyone was superior to the Catholics.

I can only suppose as to why but my guess is that the European Protestants viewed Catholics as the ones suppressing their faith. So it follows that a country - supposedly - founded by people fleeing religious repression and persecution would despise the ones they held to be responsible for the repression and persecution.

It reminds me of my own Grandmother and her dilemma of having to choose between voting for a black man or a Republican for mayor of Chicago. In the end her political prejudice out weighed her racial prejudice and she voted for Mayor Harold Washington.

95five-0

I think the problem with is not entirely with just being catholic but the fact that most catholics (prior to latins immigrating to the north) were irish. And back around the turn of the century people viewed the Irish the same way they did blacks. If you look at the political cartoons from back then they were always portrayed as drunk and stupid, with caveman features.

jeffdrummer

I think that 95's answer is more plausible, simply because by 1890 the Catholic church had already been reformed (about 300 years earlier) and there was little repression after 1750 as Catholism was on a steep decline, by 1830 there was nearly none. I would doubt that repression that happen 60-140 years prior to her birth would have much affect on her.

Chode

Just for the record, the "Mormon" church is more properly referred to as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

jeffdrummer

Good point, and modern mainstream Mormonism is very Christian. However, in the past it was very far from Christian (especially when it was founded in 1830). Mormons used to believe that Old Testament law should still be in effect, which led it to recieve a stigma from Protestent Christians. Now I agree with most of doctrinal beliefs, and I would consider them to be Christian, but certainly not Protestent.

And The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the organization (a better word might be general council) that it falls into, like the Church of God, or Assemblies of God ect. Church... Saints is not a denomination, but if you are not religious, I wouldn't expect you to know that. There are plenty more Mormons who do not belong to the Church... Saints, therefore, Mormon is the proper referral, again, I understand the mistake. Especially since the Church... Saints is the largest general council and the most known, and as you have proven almost synonomous with Mormonism.

I think this thread should be "not being Protestent really does make a difference." Because that is main theme of the thread.

Tumbleweed36

Hi Jeff,

I think this statement was not very thoughtful, since you have no way of knowing whether the readers are "religious" or not. The implication is that "you know" they aren't, so you had to tell them. Just be a little more thoughtful for those who post views that you do not agree with. The thought of "being religious" is another whole topic that I won't explore at this time.

That is my two cents worth on this statement.

Addendum: We do agree on the naming of the thread.

jeffdrummer

That's why I said if.

If you are religious, I would expect you to know that... that's all.

Tumbleweed36

Hi Jeff,

I will take your word for that intent. What I saw was the "if you are not religious" in your statement and that bothered me.

However, now that you have clarified, I feel better about the intent and you have made clear your thoughts. Have a great evening.