Archived Article on WisePagan.com

Subtitle: An Essay On The Lack of Diversity In Our Gov't Representation

Image Captions: One Nation Under Many Gods?

America is obsessed with the upcoming 2008 election. It seems like every television channel has something to say about it. A person can’t even escape to the internet from the circus that is our democratic presidential race. While watching the debates and news coverage this little ole Wiccan can’t help but wonder: What about me and my beliefs?

One of the candidates is Mitt Romney, a republican from Michigan who had to defend that he was a Christian because apparently a Mormon isn’t (Who knew? I thought they were). So out of curiosity I took a look at the candidates - the overwhelming majority were of a Christian faith. That was when it occurred to me that apparently to be a contributing member in the political arena a pre-requisite is that you have to be a Christian. So much for the hope of diverse representatives that actually represent our population.

According to Adherents.com, although the most reported religion is Christianity, the other top twenty include but are not limited to: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Wicca/neo-paganism and those that are not religious.

Unfortunately a diverse population such as ours has yet to have a governing population that represents it; women and minorities are just now starting to enter into the presidential race. However, when will the day come that we see someone of another faith enter into that office? Have we really stalled so much as a society? It was only fifty or so years ago that there was an issue with a president who was Catholic. Here we are in a new century and America can barely handle the idea of a woman or a minority but it doesn’t seem like the American public is ready for an alternative religion candidate just yet.

The candidates have been pushing religion because of the voters. But at the same time, are they not isolating voters who are not Christian? According to CNN 85% of Americans are of some Christian faith. Regionally speaking that majority is in the Midwest, South and Northeast. Whatever happened to the political issues and separation of church and state?

The propaganda that we hear all the time is that we are a nation of freedom, we have the right to be who we want, believe what we want, etc but it seems like that is thrown out the door when it comes to politics and government when our government should be representative of our population. No two Americans are exactly alike therefore we should have a greater diversity in the people who control our government, from the color of a person’s skin to their religious beliefs.

I have nothing against the Christian faith: I know many Christians and I have studied their beliefs. It just seems like there is an unrealistic slant by our government. There is nothing more frustrating than listening to a political leader talk as though the only voters in this country are of the Christian faith. They stand at the podium and promise to promote Christian values... Granted - they may be the majority but they are not the only ones. What about my values?

Furthermore, why should morals be attributed to a specific religion? I thought basic morals were universal - like breathing.

It’s sad to say but perhaps our society really hasn’t come so far. Recently, a high ranking Army officer’s wife referred to me as a “devil worshiping pagan.” Perhaps our society isn’t ready for an alternative religious candidate simply because we as a people can’t look beyond our differences. We still see the world in black, white, male, female, Christian or Non-Christian. Unity seems to be a figment of our imaginations; an unattainable goal similar to that of each person having their own personal jet packs.

By focusing on religion or a religious agenda for our politics we are, in essence, negating our freedom of religion, turning a blind eye to the very principles that we elect our officials to uphold and we are violating our separation of church and state in the process.

I will not let faith, race or gender be the reasons why I vote for someone. Hopefully someone will come out and say what it is that they want to do that will help us. I know every vote counts but it is difficult to vote when it seems like the very people you are supposed to vote for are making you feel isolated because they focus on a population that you are not included in. Just because we are different from the majority, doesn’t mean that we are not citizens who matter.

I don’t know who I am going to vote for yet. It's still too early to decide. I hope to hear more about a candidates stance on what matters... not just their religion or personal life but what they can do to help our country. I hope that, as a people, we can look beyond our differences of faith, race and gender for what is best - for the greater good of our nation. Perhaps one day, maybe not in our generation but in future generations, John Lennon’s dream that he sang about in “Imagine” (where people live together in peace and harmony) can be achieved. I guess for now I will keep dreaming of that day... one vote at a time.

Additional Resources:

The Military Pagan Network http://www.milpagan.org/

The Freedom From Religion Foundation http://www.ffrf.org/

Religious Tolerance on Wicca and Politics www.religioustolerance.org/wicca

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Title: Is There Room For Our Religion in Politics?	Author: Strahbary	Date Archived: 04-10-08