Faith in the Voting Booth

 It's Sunday, so I guess a little discussion of religion and political is not out of order.

I am a practicing Episcopalian, who was a practicing Roman Catholic until his college years. From about my mid-20s until shortly after the birth of our first child, I remained a Christian in faith but I was, as the current phrase puts it, "unchurched." My wife and I began attending our local Episcopal parish then and I was "accepted" into that denomination a year or so later.

So, how does my faith affect my politics? On reflection, I would say surprisingly little. The religion (or lack thereof) of a candidate has had very little bearing on my support for him or her, except when I view hypocrisy on their part. Don't tell me you're a "good Christian" when you have repeatedly cheated on your spouse. Don't tell me you're "pro-life" and then support capital punishment. Don't tell me how much your faith means to you if you can't quote a single thing from the Bible or the Torah (not even the opening lines of the 23rd Psalm or a couple of the Beatitudes--or worse, you don't know what "Beatitudes" means) or you haven't been inside a house of worship for other than weddings or funerals in years.

How do I think their faith should affect how a sitting politician votes? I would never tell someone they should ignore what their religious beliefs say....but, on the other hand, when those beliefs conflict with the law of the land, their oath to uphold those laws and the Constitution should be supreme. (Otherwise, in my opinion, they are violating the Commandment against false swearing.) If you cannot reconcile that conflict, then resign. 

I would appreciate any comments.