God in the White House

Blog 4: God in the White House

            With the chaos surrounding not only a Catholic man running for presidency, but the first catholic man running and getting elected, some constituents may have feared that electing a man so starkly different in religion than presidents of the past would lead to disruptive things within American politics. Some may have feared that the Pope would gain influence over the President or that his catholic ideals and beliefs would influence too heavily on his presidential decisions. Electing someone so vastly different in regards to religious beliefs, especially after WWII, the fear and scare of someone different made people weary of his competency in presidency. As far as George W. Bush explaining that his favorite philosopher was Jesus, a comment like that today could be perceived in multiple ways. If your voters are more religiously oriented, those voters would be overjoyed that the leader of our nation respects or even affiliates with Jesus. Conversely, if voters are not as religiously oriented then they may be less inclined to trust the candidate or think they are weak, influenced by only their faith or even over emotionally involved in decisions.

            Honestly, depending on the constituents, being religious can either be a help or a hindrance, which is why some presidents tend to shy away from their beliefs, while others peg themselves as ‘born again Christians’ or outwardly express religious beliefs. Kennedy arguing and urging voters to dissect the candidate’s religious beliefs and affiliations is a reflection of his own desire to not be judged strictly upon his religious affiliation. Maybe it was to not appear as weak, maybe it was more so to put both candidates on an even playing field with religion or faithful beliefs out of the question, or maybe it was simply because he was not a pristine practitioner of his Catholic faith, in regards to all of his affairs. Today, expelling one’s religion may be a hindrance or an advantage depending on the demographics of the constituents responsible for electing said person in power. Whether the voters believe that religion, be it similar or even starkly in contrast to their own, is a handicap or an advantage will determine how they vote and how accepting of outward religion they will be with candidates in the future.