How Do We Say Who Is and Is Not Religious?

 

 

Trump:Hilary

 

Are Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton really religious? Recent polls show that voters are doubtful concerning the religious convictions of the two politicians. At a time so easy to find political articles, some written stories might tell us more about voters than they do about the candidates themselves, however. For example, lets look at an article I recently found on CNN’s website titled “Pew poll: Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton seen as least religious candidates”. The article gives a plethora of voters’ opinions about “how religious” different politicians are. 60% of those polled said that Trump is not religious, while 43% said that Clinton is not religious. The purpose of this blog is not to discuss how religious these candidates are, but to question the methods and thought processes behind determining how religious one is or is not.

I think there are a few different ways we can look at the biases of those that participated in this poll. One way would be to ask ourselves if there are certain “non-religious” aspects of Trump or Clinton’s character that voters did not consider religious on their terms. Is it because they are too invested in their careers? Too argumentative? Or perhaps they hold views that contradict religious values a voter holds? Another angle would be to ponder if there are certain religious qualities that Trump or Clinton lack that voters find necessary to be considered religious. What values do they lack? Is it because they are not meek or mild mannered? Maybe because they are not loving toward each other? Both angles are important to consider: Do the candidates possess qualities that are considered non-religious? Or do they lack certain qualities that are religious? Perhaps a combination of both? Regardless, it is important to deconstruct the biases of those defining religiosity to understand how they are doing so. I think this article raises far more questions about those doing the voting than those that are being voted on. Perhaps a more appropriate (but less journalistically appealing) title would be “Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton fit least into voters’ notion of religion.”

 

 

Image credit: https://o.twimg.com/2/proxy.jpg?t=HBhtaHR0cDovL2kyLmNkbi50dXJuZXIuY29tL2Nubm5leHQvZGFtL2Fzc2V0cy8xNjAxMjcxMDE1MDAtZG9uYWxkLXRydW1wLWhpbGxhcnktY2xpbnRvbi1jb21wb3NpdGUtbGFyZ2UtMTY5LmpwZxSYBxTgAxwUhAYUlAMAABYAEgA&s=Vx1psKFB2MHflP7D0-4AnpwkkLjVdBgCVz-D2CQaYdM

Article link:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/27/politics/donald-trump-pew-religion-poll-atheists/index.html

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *