News FeedMany candidates mention their religious beliefs during their campaigns. Although each of them emphasize it to a different degree, many candidates seem to believe that their own religious beliefs and those of their opponents are important to the campaign process.
Earlier this year, false rumors that Democratic candidate Barack Obama was a follower of the Islam faith. While these issues were false, they created quite a stir in the media. But how much does religion matter to the voting population?
Among the several students that were interviewed about this issue, none thought that the religion of either candidate would play a serious role in their decision who to vote for. Each said they preferred to have their names undisclosed.
The first student interviewed identified themselves as a non-religious McCain supporter. They said the beliefs of either candidate played little part in their decision on who they would vote for.
“McCain is the best candidate this year because he has military background, a decent economic plan, and he has the knowledge to run this country, unlike his counterpart,” the student said. “McCain can be whatever religion he wants. I’m not really a religious person, so it doesn’t really matter [to me]. I’ve never really even thought of that.”
There are also plenty of people on the other side of the aisle, who are actively religious and support Obama. To one student that was interviewed, the issues were more important to them than their religion or that of either candidate.
“[Obama] is a democrat, and we need a bit of change,” the student said. “We’ve been republican for eight years, and the economy is doing very badly. … Obama is very [strong] on education, and for the next four or five years of my life, that’s going to be one of the main things in my life, and how much money I’ll get [for it]. That’s the reason I would like [Obama] in the office.”
The student went on to talk about why their own religious views did not influence their decision to vote for Obama.
“I believe church and state are completely separated,” the student said. “I don’t vote for religious beliefs at all, one way or the other. … If [my candidate] believes in the right way to do things, then that’s the way I’m going to vote.”
Another student said why they thought voting based on religious ideas was not a good idea.
“I just think that there are more important things [than religion], such as their policies, or their general outlooks or general philosophies on life that play, probably, a more important role in the decisions that they are making in office,” the student said. “While religion is important in driving people, I think its extent only goes so far in a political office.”
The overall impression that the students interviewed made was that it was the issues that mattered to them the most. The candidates’ religion was of very little importance to them. When voters cast their vote on November 4th, it will more than likely be a vote on the issues, not on the religion of their chosen candidate.
