How does a candidate’s faith manifest itself
January 7, 2012 in Question of the Week, Spotlight Answers, What do YOU want to know -- and what don't you want to know -- about a presidential candidate’s faith? by Danish-Siddiqui
Religion has been a major and hot topic among Republican presidential contenders. It also was a major topic in the 2008 campaign.
What do YOU want to know about a presidential candidate’s faith? What do you NOT want to know?
Though a presidential candidate’s faith is important to me, it is only to the extent in how that faith manifests itself. I don’t need to know the private affairs of his/her life or how many times he/she has slipped up on the road to being a presidential candidate. All the major faiths encourage their followers towards compassion, tolerance, integrity, and altruism. These are traits every candidate should possess and practice every day, especially if they want to be the leader of the free world.
Love of God and neighbor are at the core of many religious traditions. Even non-religious might express an appreciation for mystery and ethical responsibility toward others. There is rightly no religious test for public office.
I am more concerned with how a candidate’s policy proposals, if put into practice, would affect “the least of these” – the most vulnerable in our society. Is a campaign driven by fear and divisiveness or does it appeal to what is noble and virtuous in our body politic?
If I am facing surgery and am told that one surgeon has an outstanding record and another is a person of faith who will have prayer with me before surgery; I would want the best surgeon – and would appreciate the prayers of her colleague.
In my opinion a person’s faith is demonstrated daily by the manner in which he/she treats our fellow human beings. A person’s spoken faith is usually dependent on whatever authority he/she subscribes to – the Bible, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc – but it is the treatment of other people that truly shows what our beliefs are. Many of us in the faith community talk much better than we live. Another factor for Christians is our understanding of the authority of the Bible. If we believe the Bible to be inerrant, the literal word of God, our treatment of others will likely take one direction. If our beliefs are that the Bible contains the word of God but is not inerrant then our treatment of other is likely to quite different. It’s my opinion, that for Christians, our understanding of the teachings of the Bible is the belief that separates us from each other more than any other because we all claim it as our authority and yet we read it so very differently.
I failed to mention the Presidential race. I want a person of absolute integrity, intelligence, compassion and the ability to balance the demands of this incredibly difficult job with honor. Again, those traits are demonstrated – not just claimed.