On Saturday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made some weird remarks about President Obama’s religion while discussing global warming. There are a lot of unfavorable things to be said about Santorum, but instead of focusing on that, we should consider why this is even news at all.
America is technically a secular nation. Despite the fact that we claim not to value one religion over another in this country, when it comes to politics and electing our leaders, good Christian values are always respected over any other religion – or lack of religion.
Just the thought of this country ever electing an atheist or agnostic president seems out of this world. For some reason, a large majority of people still think that a good leader needs to follow some kind of religion, and more often than not, voters want to see a “good Christian” elected into office.
These views are typically more often found in Republican voters, but President Obama always makes it clear that he is a Christian who believes in what is written in The Bible. One reason Obama took so long waffling about gay marriage is because his religion doesn’t permit it – but, mostly it was the desire to not stray too far from his centrist appeal.
Either way, he still made a point to highlight his Christianity, which is something I just don’t think is necessary.
Being religious doesn’t signify a person’s ability to be a great leader. Conversely, a lack of religion doesn’t signify a person’s incompetence as a leader or a lack of morals. People read into that too much.
Being religious, or not, isn’t even a reflection on someone’s character. It just means they’ve made a personal decision to believe in a higher power or not. I’m not trying to say that religion, atheism, or agnosticism is better than the others, I’m just saying that there are more important things to consider when voting someone into office.
Santorum said Obama believes in “phony theology” that isn’t in line with The Bible. Who cares? That should be the least of our concern come November.
Alexis Reza is a senior journalism major and opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
Agreed.