Post by camasci35 on Nov 16, 2011 15:58:11 GMT -5
As the 2012 presidential election looms around the corner, the growing public fascination with each candidate is intensifying with each new divulgence of their personal lives. The Republican Party, with its plethora of candidates, dominates the media daily with its many scandals and revelations of the nominees. But each time a new candidate steps onto the scene, the first question asked is always to of which religion do they belong. America was founded upon the separation of church and state, but its voters often base their support upon the candidate as a person and not on what they can achieve for the nation. If the United States was truly a secular nation, religion would not play such an important role in its proceedings.
The most prevalent example of this is Mitt Romney, at who the public become obsessed with the fact that he is a Mormon. Romney is struggling because his religion is viewed to be outside mainstream America, and he is having a hard time gaining support and joining the Republican consensus because his religion differs from the forerunners' Christian beliefs. Many political analysts predict that his campaign will only be successful if he can manage to bridge the religious gap with shared political values. In theory, it should not matter what religion Romney is, but even 235 years after the Constitution was signed Americans cannot keep the religious affiliations of people separated from who they think would run the country the best. In fact, every single president’s religion has fallen under the Protestant denomination with the exception of JFK being elected as a Catholic in 1960. The monotony of the religions adheres to the concepts in The Crucible in which Romney and JFK, like Proctor, struggle to gain credibility due to being outside of the consensus because of their religious tendencies.
More recently with the election of President Obama, his religious background was a main source of critique during his campaign. The rumor that Obama had switched his religion from Islam to Christianity caused an uproar among the media and public, especially because the US’s current “enemies” are members of the Islamic faith. The fact that a rumor about Obama’s possible religion caused so much controversy shows that Americans do not truly think in a secular way and that they depend upon sacred attitudes as judgment. Like our Puritan founders, the American public still fears anything different that may not agree with the nation’s consensus.
In conclusion, the nation is still very much a part of a sacred v. secular debate. Although progress has been made since the time of the Puritans, our society still models them by basing judgment upon religion. The plight of Romney and Obama parallels those accused of witchcraft in The Crucible who were forced outside the consensus by their supposed sorcery, who were only saved by their strong devotion to the Puritan faith. However for Romney to give up his faith, and if Obama did really change religions for non-personal reasons, would to succumb to the pressures of society whom refuse to adhere to the secular government the nation is contrived to have. Until the US can forget their sacred attitudes, the nation will never be a truly secular country.
The most prevalent example of this is Mitt Romney, at who the public become obsessed with the fact that he is a Mormon. Romney is struggling because his religion is viewed to be outside mainstream America, and he is having a hard time gaining support and joining the Republican consensus because his religion differs from the forerunners' Christian beliefs. Many political analysts predict that his campaign will only be successful if he can manage to bridge the religious gap with shared political values. In theory, it should not matter what religion Romney is, but even 235 years after the Constitution was signed Americans cannot keep the religious affiliations of people separated from who they think would run the country the best. In fact, every single president’s religion has fallen under the Protestant denomination with the exception of JFK being elected as a Catholic in 1960. The monotony of the religions adheres to the concepts in The Crucible in which Romney and JFK, like Proctor, struggle to gain credibility due to being outside of the consensus because of their religious tendencies.
More recently with the election of President Obama, his religious background was a main source of critique during his campaign. The rumor that Obama had switched his religion from Islam to Christianity caused an uproar among the media and public, especially because the US’s current “enemies” are members of the Islamic faith. The fact that a rumor about Obama’s possible religion caused so much controversy shows that Americans do not truly think in a secular way and that they depend upon sacred attitudes as judgment. Like our Puritan founders, the American public still fears anything different that may not agree with the nation’s consensus.
In conclusion, the nation is still very much a part of a sacred v. secular debate. Although progress has been made since the time of the Puritans, our society still models them by basing judgment upon religion. The plight of Romney and Obama parallels those accused of witchcraft in The Crucible who were forced outside the consensus by their supposed sorcery, who were only saved by their strong devotion to the Puritan faith. However for Romney to give up his faith, and if Obama did really change religions for non-personal reasons, would to succumb to the pressures of society whom refuse to adhere to the secular government the nation is contrived to have. Until the US can forget their sacred attitudes, the nation will never be a truly secular country.