Do most Republicans want a theocracy in America?

[Freeman]

Hey, new here and forgive me if I make may mistakes or generalizations, I just don't understand much about politics.

But there are some groups (fundie Evangelicals and the Dominionists I hear about) who want religion involved in every day life. They praise people like Rick Perry, Santorum, Bachmann etc. but not Romney.

Why is it mostly Republicans proclaim their fundamental Christian beliefs in their politics?

excuse me if I'm making mistakes or generalizing, but I have to know. People in America are always so concerned with religion, and the fundamentalists want religion in politics all the way because they use the excuse of America founded on Judeo-Christian values (now we have other religions today) and that the founding fathers were Christians (some of them were deists including Thomas Jefferson who had his own bible). And they think that being gay can be treated but it is not disease its a natural feeling.

[finleeport]

Hi and welcome to FJ, hope you enjoy it.

But as to your question, its a good question. Mostly the Republican candidates are openly expressing their fundamental Christian beliefs. But then so can Democrats.

[SealFan1963]

I think that for the most part religion has always played a part in American Politics. I remember reading that it was a big deal that JFK was Irish Catholic.

Here is an interesting site I found:

http://www.pewforum.org/The-Religious-Affiliations-of-US-Presidents.aspx

[Sister Mary Savage]

I think that the more extreme republicans may want their religion to be on top of all others but others (that I've met) seemed more moderate yet conservative.

[tropaka]

I think this is one of those cases in which you could say most fundamentalist Christians would align themselves with the Republicans, but that most Republicans are not struct fundamentalist Christians. You can be a fiscal conservative without being a social/religious conservative - although they've been a bit alienated (like David Frum).

ETA Of course it was a big deal that JFK was Catholic - next to African Americans and Jews, Catholics were on the KKK et al's sh*t list (now, how adherent the Kennedy's were as Catholics is a whole different ball game).

[Kitty]

Honestly, I don't think so. I know a lot of North Carolina Republicans, at least, and I don't think they're too much different from other Republicans. After all, they've all got something in common other than simply being Republicans.

I honestly think that most people just don't do their research in regards to candidates, they just take everything they say at face value and go with what the party line is. Social conservatism is very appealing to Southerners and rural folks, and not necessarily something that's tied to religion. Because of how pervasive Christianity is, you get a lot of apathetic people spouting anti-abortion and anti-gay bullshit. They hear it from friends who DO go to church and actually listen and run with it.

A theocracy would severely cramp many Southerners' styles. Georgia just overturned a ban on selling alcohol on Sunday; do you think they'll be OK with banning alcohol entirely? Closing EVERYTHING down on Sundays would just piss everyone off. The South already has some of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, and the least-educated populaces. Both of those would get much worse under a theocracy and deep down all Southerners know that.

I realize there's a lot more Republicans than southerners, but really, I don't think there's very many Republicans who want a theocracy. They want a Christian nation, sure, but Christian nation =/= theocracy. It's more cultural than it is spiritual for many folks, though there are some who really don't think that Perry and Bachmann are borderline fundies, just devout Christians who have strong convictions. (And some who feel the same about Santorum, obv). If any Republican administration tried to forge a theocracy, other Republicans would quickly tire of it and vote new people in. The sentiments against gay marriage seem to be cultural more than religious, and it's about 50/50 for abortion, I think (and you get the idiots who don't put any more thought into it than "teenagers should have the kids so they'll learn that actions have consequences!" really?)

[Buzzard]

A true republican will be a strict constructionist when it comes to constitutional interpretation. That means seperation of church and state. They also will likely believe in state's rights, which means that the states decide if they can expand on federal law (abortion, gay marriage etc). What that means is that an individual state can outlaw or place greater restrictions on something the feds say is legal.

I actually see them going the other way (like trying to ban sharia law in courts etc that was recently struck down). Yeah, they may try and post the 10 commandments in courthouses, but certainly not a theocracy.

[Jezebel]

Nearly all of the Republicans I know are either non-religious or are the kinds of nominal Christians who only attend church on Christmas and Easter. My father, for example, is a die-hard Republican of the "I've got mine, so fuck you!" stripe. He is pretty much an atheist, has no objection to abortion and thinks same-sex marriage should be legal--but he votes in favor of his balance sheet. The rights of women and minorities are secondary to his financial interests, so he turns a blind eye to candidates' religious motivations and votes for whoever he believes has the most advantageous economic policy. He does think Santorum is "a complete whackjob," but then again he's a big Romney supporter so there's no comfort to be had. :?