Americans want more religious input in politics: poll

most evangelical Christians expressing those views felt the GOP needed to be more conservative in addressing the issues

If only AC hadn't been invented..

Fifty-nine percent of Republicans said they believe churches should express their views on political matters,

No church is prohibited from expressing its political views to its own congregation.

The moment they start paying taxes is when they can express them in the public sphere as an organization. In a recent post, I mentioned an artist predicting in the mid-1980s that America was headed for a fascist theocracy. Articles like this supply evidence to support that trend.

' fully half of Americans now consider homosexuality a sin, up from 45% just one year ago.'

Over 40% of Americans also think the Noah's Ark story is historical fact. It's quite frightening that the world's most powerful country has so many religious crackpots in it and want these ideas to influence public policy. Fox help to stir their paranoia with warnings of discrimination towards Christians and the war on Christmas. It would be okay if this kind of nonsense was restricted to extremist news channels but it reaches much further. I recommend a reading of the book 'American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century' by former Republican strategist Kevin Phillips. Truly frightening stuff.

Interesting point is most of these people doesn't really have a clue on how the bible had been edited by who and when it became what people are familiar of.

BBC has a comprehensive library of documentaries focusing on this topic that Americans living in the bible belt should watch so they become more aware what they are actually preaching in the name of "God".

As an Atheist American, I am offended that these people can't keep their religion out of my face.

It's amazing, as religious conflict foments around the world, the zealots pitch up for a power grab. The Inquisition, just when you least expect them.

Each his own. I personally don't want religion near politics, but if people have and want to practice religion, why not. As long as they don't try to physically hurt people. Who cares?

They felt their party was largely failing them on four key issues—abortion, illegal immigration, government spending and same-sex marriage

Three out of four pretty much equate to getting up in people's business and pushing people around. Force them to bear children they don't want or can't afford, have the police stop the dark skinned people randomly and check their documentation and prevent the gays from being happy in a marriage.

And the government spending is not about the overwhelming amount spent on the military. Oh no! After all, the military gets us up in people's business and pushes them around! So they can spend us into poverty if they want. No. The government spending complaint is because of selfishness and greed because they don't want their tax money to go to some destitute kid's health care.

Too many people claiming to be religious who are like this. Religion, like patriotism, seems to be another refuge for the scoundrel. And not to attack religion at all, but Americans are clearly doing it WRONG.

Magic is never the answer for anything. Churches should be forced to pay taxes if they want to behave politically. I support atheist groups on Facebook like Japan Atheist Society. John Lennon was on to some deep truth when he wrote the lyrics to Imagine.

While not a believer myself, I thing a belief in god is good for most americans. A moral compass is how I see it. To many deviate from that and belief in God does shoulder guilt on them.

As far as "in my face", NOPE! Not religion, homosexuality, abortion, or any other controversial issue should be paraded around for public support.

Not religion, homosexuality, abortion, or any other controversial issue should be paraded around for public support.

This is clearly not a "liberal" opinion. If you start to break it down, what it seems to be calling for are serious restrictions of freedom of speech and assembly on the part of individuals to challenge existing laws.

If individuals decide to form a group to challenge laws that prohibit, for example, same-sex couples being treated under law the same as married couples, MarkG appears to suggest that they should be prevented from doing so because it would mean "parading a controversial issue around for public support." Imagine that: no letters to the local newspaper; no holding of public rallies and demonstrations, etc.

As for religious groups and politics, one can turn on a TV and find 24/7 religious channels who spout political views all the time. I am not opposed to that, as I can simply choose not to watch. And so these people who claim to want more "religious input" are actually wanting to remove or censor those things which they deem "anti-religious." That is how they want to achieve the "more" part.

Too many different religious input that DEM and GOP in congress will not be Able to discuss anything

@Bass I think you're missing the point here. Nobody is saying people can't practice religion. The point is American politics is already hugely influenced by religion. I'm sure you're aware of just how much the GOP in particular has to play to the evangelicals to rely on their vote and this affects public policy regarding issues from gay marriage to stem cell research. The book I quoted earlier goes as far as recounting how religion has played a part in foreign policy, particularly regarding the 'Holy Land' and the second coming. It was Bush who believed in the biblical demons Gog and Magog doing all kinds of demonic things in the Middle East and he did say that god told him to invade Iraq. I think that your 'who cares?' is a bit complacent here.

yet another reason why I refuse to live there, good job and keep it up Murica because God loves you

How embarrassing.

Will this include all religious outlooks like Wicca or Hindu ideals? Shinto or other pagan esque philosophies of beliefs or just the good old red white and blue merica Christianity?

Total nonsense. One poll does not a trend make.

The trend has been clear and strong for decades: Americans are less religious, one less religion in their politics, and are increasingly in favor of gay rights.

Total nonsense. One poll does not a trend make.

The trend has been clear and strong for decades: Americans are less religious, one less religion in their politics, and are increasingly in favor of gay rights.

You are not a scientific pollster and you can't factually prove it. Actually, that's not as true as you would like to think. That is just one poll, there was another poll that was done recently that they surveyed to around 90,000 across the country and there was a large percentage of people that some form of spiritual belief add to that the influx of many Latinos, Africans and people from the Philippines coming into this country it does influence the polling. Now, as far as politics, I don't think religion should be mixed into it and socially, there is still a lot of stigma when it comes to gay rights. Again, for most Latinos and Africans, it is an immoral issue and most are against it.

@jimizo

I think you're missing the point here. Nobody is saying people can't practice religion. The point is American politics is already hugely influenced by religion. I'm sure you're aware of just how much the GOP in particular has to play to the evangelicals to rely on their vote and this affects public policy regarding issues from gay marriage to stem cell research. The book I quoted earlier goes as far as recounting how religion has played a part in foreign policy, particularly regarding the 'Holy Land' and the second coming. It was Bush who believed in the biblical demons Gog and Magog doing all kinds of demonic things in the Middle East and he did say that god told him to invade Iraq.

That is another bunch of BS that was trumped up by the left. Bush did not verbally say, that God told him to invade Iraq. Bush has ONLY stated that Men, all men have a right to be FREE to pursue any religion they want and that FREEDOM is a gift of the almighty. Nothing wrong with that statement.

Yes, the man was religious, but that religion dictated his political view overwhelmingly and through every facet, I doubt that, I do remember how the left tried vehemently to drag and tag him through that mud.

The problem is many liberal Atheists just can't accept someone that values and cherishes religion. You don't see a huge campaign of religious zealots trying to take every right away from the Atheists. They have become to be the most intolerant group in our society. If and when we have a president or anyone in congress gets on the podium and starts preaching about God and politics told me to do this or do that, then I will have a problem with that.

They have become to be the most intolerant group in our society.

This is the problem with America: the population hates Atheists more than rapists

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-10/religion-atheism/51777612/1

This is despite the fact that huge numbers of scientists don't need anything non-scientific in their philosophy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_in_science_and_technology. But then, much of America never liked science anyways.

Religion should be a personal and private thing only. It shouldn't be used as a basis for government policy. The increasingly bigoted attitudes towards homosexuality is a good example of this.

I think that any politician aspiring to high office in the US should undergo an exorcism like Sarah Palin. You never know if Gog and Magog have decided to play diabolical games in the US. Apparently Chirac, like most sane people, had to check who these demonic figures were after talking to Bush.

The Americans polled apparently were sleeping when they were taught in U.S. Government class about how the Constitution attempts to maintain a "separation between church and state". ANY religious organization is going to consider their religious dogma to supersede anything written in the Constitution. If allowed to intrude on the government, religions would trample all over the Constitution as being flawed because it was written and maintained by humans, while their religion comes from their deity and therefore is always superior. Goodbye, Democracy. Hello, Theocracy.

What these people polled appear to be doing is giving up their responsibilities regarding effective and representative government and reverting back to sheep. They want some religion to tell them what to do rather than think for themselves with regards to their government.