voting and religion

It's impossible to turn on a tv or the radio lately and not hear about the upcoming Presidential election. And by "upcoming" I mean "still eight months away."

They say there are two things you shouldn't talk about in polite conversation: religion and politics. I think you could probably add a lot more things to that list ( sex, my uncle Eddie's gastro-intestinal problems, how sausage is made...). For now, though we're gonna eschew the rules of polite conversation and talk about religion AND politics. Specifically I want to discuss how your religion affects your politics.

To help you form your answer, here's a helpful poll:



After you vote, click on the comment button and tell us a little bit about yourself and how your politics and religion go together. Remember, though, there are lots of varied opinions on this kind of thing, so be respectful of other people and try to avoid useless generalizations like, "All republicans stub out their cuban cigars on puppies" or "All democrats live in hemp houses and mooch off the government."

Personally, I went through a stage in my life where politics and religion were so intermingled that they might as well have been the same thing. These days there are lots of times when I feel like the two things shouldn't be allowed anywhere near each other. Politics seem so dirty and compromised - I'm afraid if it becomes intwined with my religion some of the dirty will rub off.

I think like most things in this fallen world, there's room for God to step in and redeem politics on some level. I freely admit I don't know how that's supposed to happen, though. Thoughts?