Before I delve further into specifics, I wanted to highlight three aspects I've commented on before:
#1: I've already been on record saying NUMEROUS times: Religion IS NOT a qualification or disqualification for public office; but it's certainly one quality of voter discernment among many others...namely, voting record, present position statements & rampant inconsistency of past position statements, social issues' stances, character, viability, scandal-free past, etc.
#2: Most Evangelicals DO consider a candidate's faith and religious beliefs as either "very important" or "somewhat important"...Per this 2006 Rasmussen poll: Election 2008: 43% Would Never Vote for Mormon Candidate (Rasmussen Poll)
Excerpt from that thread: The Rasmussen Reports survey found that 35% say that a candidate's faith and religious beliefs are very important in their voting decision. Another 27% say faith and religious beliefs are somewhat important. Ninety-two percent (92%) of Evangelical Christian voters consider a candidate's faith and beliefs important. On the partisan front, 78% of Republicans say that a candidate's faith is an important consideration, a view shared by 55% of Democrats. However, there is also a significant divide on this topic within the Democratic Party. Among minority Democrats, 71% consider faith and religious beliefs an important consideration for voting. Just 44% of white Democrats agree.
So, I would hope that...
(a) ...posters realize they need to be careful that they don't "blast away" at 62% (add the 35% and 27% figures mentioned above) of Americanswho say that a candidate’s faith is very or somewhat important as a consideration?
(b)…Or at a full 92% of Evangelical Christianswho say they consider a candidate’s faith and beliefs an important consideration
Time for two Q for you: Did you realize the % was this high six years ago [obviously, we could agree that perhaps some of this has "softened" since then]? Would you critique 92% of Evangelicals integrating their faith and politics?
#3 I've also said on a past thread -- that even among Mormon candidates -- all Mormons are not alike. I said then: Some are jack Mormons. Some are born-again Mormons. The “Church of Christ” RLDS folks—BoM believers-- have come a lot closer to orthodox Christianity thru the years. Mormons, like members of Christian churches, can be a pretty diverse lot. What you absolutely forget or neglect to realize is that my evaluation of a candidates’ other-worldly commitments isn’t limited to folks of other faiths. I make the same evals of “Christian” affiliated candidates as well. It’s not the only thing I look at…which the same is true for an LDS candidate. But I make spiritual evals across the board based on the fruits I can discern. To me, this is simply a matter of practicing discernment as to which leader is in touch with THE ONLY TRUE GOD—the ONE who will help our nation in a time of crisis or during a dirty bomb scenario like the one the character Jack Bauer & the POTUS of the series “24” went through.
Other-worldly commitments (faith) is a character issue! There's no way around this realization! To try to extract such other-worldly commitments from character is simply not possible. Time & time again folks try to hermetically seal "faith" & "religion" away from the public square as if folks checked their faith at the door or as if folks were neatly cut-up pie pieces. (Just try telling any voter that he should never weigh "character" into his/her voting-decision considerations).
I find myself in agreement with you on most all of this post. So, I think, if we are still disagreeing, we must have wandered off on our point of disagreement. If there still is one.
I believe the point, or question, is: Would you disqualify - rule out voting for - a member of the Church of LDS for political office based on this membership alone?
Not whether religion and religious values are important or are a valid consideration, etc.
Thanks for your courteous discussion.