The Obama campaign is crowing to God-o-Meter about its uptick in white Catholic support in the Quinnipiac poll released yesterday. The poll had Obama ahead 51-42 among white Catholics, a turnaround from last month, when the Q poll gave McCain a 48-40 lead.
Makes you wonder if reports about Catholic defections from the Democratic Party in light of recent criticisms of Democratic politicians from some Catholic bishops are overblown and if Mark Silk and Beliefnet's David Gibson are right in arguing that the salience of the abortion issue among Catholics has been exaggerated by the news media.
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Dear Margaret,
Dear Margaret,
It all depends on whether we as a civilized society believe that ALL individuals are equal.
We could stop abortion on the basis that it is barbaric. This would not be different than what was done before when in January 1865, Congress sent to the state legislatures for ratification what became the Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery in all U.S. states and territories.
Yet again, while people keep repeating Planned Parenthood mantras (idiotic concoctions suggesting the existence of inhuman human individuals) and the Press keeps addressing this a religion issue, the much necessary dialog will not take place. Innocent individuals will continue being killed.
It goes back to you and I…we must become the change the Word needs.
My job is to bring the scientific facts to the table.
in re. scruffy
"That is why many Catholics ignore the church rhetoric and do their own thing. That is also why abortion is not an issue with most Catholics, they are more concerned with how they and their neighbors are getting on than with strict observance of "Church Law"."
In simple terms, any religion or Church is a human organization. Sort of a club made up of people who agree on set of beliefs about reality and how they should live their lives in light of those beliefs. Membership is voluntary, however, one can only really be said to be a member if one agrees to the beliefs of the 'club'. Otherwise to say that they belong to a particular religion and yet do not believe what that religion teaches/agrees upon is meaningless.
For someone to say they are Catholic but to disagree on a fundamental teaching of the Church is as much as to say that they are not Catholic but merely using the affiliation for some sort of other social benefit. Much like politicians who say they are Catholic and yet vote contrary to the Church's teachings. There is a word for this. In the Catholic church we say that when one does not believe in or acts in such a way as to signify disagreeance with a fundamental belief (one of the core beliefs all Catholics say they agree with when they join), that person has Excommunicated themselves from the Church... and as such can not properly be called Catholic. It is basically a recognition of the fact that by a person's words or deeds that this person no longer wants to belong to the 'club'.
What really ticks me off is when I hear/read about 'Catholic' support for a candidate which would tacitly imply that the supporter in question was not really a Catholic any more. Such polls and statistics are fundamentally misleading. It would be equivalent to me (a white, male Cahtolic) telling a pollster that I was a middle-easter, female muslim and the pollster representing my opinion as valid muslim concensus. It is a lie.
I know this may seem harsh, but then again, no one is forcing these people to stay Catholic. You simply cannot have it both ways. Either you are a Catholic because you believe and follow the teachings of the Catholic Church, or you are not.
One nice thing in the Church as opposed to other 'clubs' is that one can become a member again if they are willing to agree once again to the fundamentals and make amends for any damage their previous disbelief may have caused... pretty forgiving if you ask me... but then, that is what Christ taught us and the Church continues to teach... Love and Forgiveness.
Mr. Obama is trying very hard to reach different "religions" for his gain. What I've seen in our heavy populated Catholic community is: if their local priest has a certain political view, many members are looking to him for the direction their vote should go. Too many catholics look at their priests as a god, without doing their own research and discern what is their own preference or conscience. This is not an attack on priests or catholics as an observation in our geographic localition.
If Mr. Obama is so "religious", why would "his camp" or he speak so evil regarding others that oppose him and his philosophy? Any person who would attend church services for several years that has a man calling himself a "minister" with the sewer mouth and hatred he delivers should behove us to take a second/third/fourth look at a presidential candidate so closely attached should even have such a thing as a "god o-meter".
I have been watching very close if the Republican camp attacks the muslim belief that Obama has.........I haven't seen any. Believing in a god is different than believing in the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Even satan believes in God. Who ever thought up this "god-0-meter" should research more.
@teany
"I have been watching very close if the Republican camp attacks the muslim belief that Obama has.........I haven't seen any"
That's because Barack Obama doesn't have a "muslim belief". Nice try but the whole "Barack Obama is a muslim" think isn't working. That's why he's winning.
Carly,
Thanks for writing back. I would like you to comment on the rest of the topics I had written about, in addition to the the muslim association.
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