mlyons619 wrote:

From "The Twelve Tribes of American Politics"
We are talking about those who consider themselves as non-religious, atheists, and agnostics.  They represent 10.7% of the voting-age population, and 11.0% of  2004 voters.

I'm a atheist and an agnostic. And I belong to a religious congregation (UU).

mlyons619 wrote:

Most (48%) consider themselves moderate, 35% consider themselves liberal, and 17% consider themselves conservative.  47% consider themselves Democrat; in fact, this Democratic bloc that has been steadily growing in size: 74% of Seculars voted for Kerry, accounting for 16% of his total vote.

I am, in general, a Liberal. However, I am at times and about certain subject, conservative or moderate. I am, at present, a registered Democrat. When the Republican party divests it's of crooks, con-men, extremists, and fascists, I will return to being an Independant. I voted for Kerry. I would vote for PeeWee Herman if it meant getting Bush out of office.

This group is most uncomfortable when candidates talk about their personal faith (54%). They are very liberal on social issues: 83% are pro-choice and 59% favor same-sex marriage. They are also liberal on foreign policy, moderate on economics, and quite young (47% under age 35).

I don't care if a candidate is religious or not..a Jew, Catholic, Buddhist, or atheist. It's not my business. I care that the person will do the job the way it is outlined in the Constitution, that he or she will represent all the people, obey the law, and do the right thing.
I am pro-choice..a woman's freedom to abort a pregnancy, to continue it, to make decisions about the labor and delivery, and to decide how best to care for the child if one is born. Same-sex marriage is no different than het marriage as far as I'm concerned. If two people want to commit, they should be afforded certain rights and legal protections. Period. I am over 63 yrs old.

Who do you see as SECULAR candidates among the front runners? 

I think all of them are Christians. I don't care enough about the issue to examine each person more closely.

Is the Democratic Party trying to entice the secular vote at the expense of alienating those with religious beliefs?

Huh? Where did you come up with such an idea? As I said before, I am a registered Democrat. I am active in my county party. To the best of my knowledge, most if not all (but me) are Christians. If I had to guess what kind of Christians, I'd say some Episcopal, a LOT of Methodists, a LOT of Baptists, probably a few Penticostals, a very small showing of Catholics, and the rest..I don't know. But I do know they are big on pledging allegience to flags, putting their hands on bibles to swear things, and saying prayers over food, at the beginning of meetings, etc. You tell ME if that means they are trying to entice anybody to do anything..except to leave the right and come to the left. Gee whiz...so many myths, so little substance.

Will the Republican Party continue to marginalize its secular membership, or will the seculars become more influential with the failure of the ostentiously religious Bush Administration?

They will continue to do what they do til they finally figure out they've been had...big-time had. Then they will try, I hope, to get back to where they used to be..people of various walks of life who tend to cope by using conservative means, rather than liberal means. In other words, more cautious and traditional than risk-taking and open to change. IMO, neither coping mechanism is good all the time.

[QUOTE=fodaoson;198869]... most religions are  non partisan or anti government, Religion and politics are not good mixes including atheism.  Agnosticism can but it too get stained by politics and religions...[/QUOTE]

With the possible exception of Huckabee, doesn't it seem that almost ALL the candidates are DE-emphasizing the importance of religion?

Is that really a good idea?

Remember, secularists constitute less than 11% of the total voting population...

I wish there really WERE secular candidates running for the white house. I think we would benefit a great deal with either an atheist or agnostic president.

I'm tired of a born-again sitting in the white house telling me what I'm supposed to believe and who to pray to.

Sometimes I do lean liberal when it comes to social issues; I think abortion is a decision that should be made by the woman and that gay marriage is a civil rights issue. But I don't believe that labor unions, teachers unions should have as much sway over our politicians as they do, so I'm not that socially liberal.

I'm fiscally conservative and ticked off that our politicians don't have the accountability of huge budgets that I do every month when I balance my checkbook.

As a libertarian, I want my government to leave me the h*ll alone and stick to the business of defence from within and without.