Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/ ... ression%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Many of the people I know, including my parents, are not at all religious. However, they are very conservative for fiscal reasons (wanting lower taxes and less regulation).

Buckwheat wrote:they are very conservative for fiscal reasons (wanting lower taxes and less regulation).

And we see how that worked out.

Sigh... I long for a day when my vote does not clump into one decision a statement about religion, abortion, government spending, destroying or protecting the environment, equal rights for all, labor interests versus corporate, etc. These seem to me like distinctly different issues, not sure why I can't vote on them separately rather than as a "bundle".

tiltbillings wrote:

Buckwheat wrote:they are very conservative for fiscal reasons (wanting lower taxes and less regulation).

And we see how that worked out.

I didn't say I agree with them. The OP seems to imply that conservatism and religion go hand in hand. I am only pointing out that, while there is overlap, there are multiple causes for one to be conservative. To write off conservatives as religious radicals is an oversimplification that leads to misunderstanding and missing the opportunity to negotiate a middle ground, further perpetuating the entrenched, divisive politics so common today.

To better understand American politics and culture we explore the role religion plays in influencing political belief systems. We argue that there is a relationship, most notably between conservative protestant groups and conservative political organizations and values, between one’s religious faith and one’s political affiliation and ideology. To this end, we utilized data from the 1996 General Social Survey (GSS) and found that religious beliefs and religious affiliation do in fact shape political ideology and affiliation. We discovered that one’s religious identity and belief structure greatly influence one’s interest in politics, likeliness to identify one’s self as liberal or conservative, and political party affiliation.

http://www.unc.edu/~grfields/CRCP.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Buckwheat wrote:

tiltbillings wrote:

Buckwheat wrote:they are very conservative for fiscal reasons (wanting lower taxes and less regulation).

And we see how that worked out.

I didn't say I agree with them. The OP seems to imply that conservatism and religion go hand in hand. I am only pointing out that, while there is overlap, there are multiple causes for one to be conservative. To write off conservatives as religious radicals is an oversimplification that leads to misunderstanding and missing the opportunity to negotiate a middle ground, further perpetuating the entrenched, divisive politics so common today.

Yes, and I think we really need to be as specific as possible and say exactly what we mean or we end up spouting generalisations that are so useless they are not even wrong.
In this case the words "religion" and "religious" hide more than they reveal. In particular, there is a spectrum going from evangelical revivalist Christian groups, through mainstream protestant denominations and catholicism to migrants' buddhism, westerners' buddhism (if I can call them that ) and new-ageism. The are all "religious" but my list aligns pretty much with the spectrum from "conservative" to "liberal".
Even that level of discrimination is cross-hatched with divisions along rural/urban, rich/poor and ethnic lines, but I think one might be justified in saying that conservatism and some forms of religion go hand in hand.


Kim

I have just read the link that daverupa supplied and it looks like I accidentally summarised it without even reading it.
- Kim

Kim O'Hara wrote:

Kim

Daverupa's immediately preceding msg makes a good point. Also, a poll such the OP is not designed -- nor is it intended to -- to tell what any particular individual is going to do.