Practicing Catholic Democrats?

[MossMan]

I think it's very kind and gracious of the many posters who have offered up their own stories and explanations, but truthfully, OP.

Nobody owes you an explanation. It's none of your business why people vote the way they do.

This is just another attempt to stir the pot by a sore loser Republican.

Maybe you are right. But lets assume that the OP is serious about this and desires a genuine discussion on the issue. Doesn't that make your response just another thoughtless dismissal by a gloating Democrat?

 

[gina2000]

I separate my religion from my politics. I hold myself accountable for my own personal choices, not the choices of the rest of the country. I don't believe in limiting any choices except my own. I rely on my personal sense of integrity to decide what is moral/ethical for me. I do believe that choice is what makes a person strong, not limiting choices. And that's the essense of Catholicism for me.

I vote both Democratic and Republican. Neither party suits my moral/ethical stand.

 

[wall*e2008]

This one is very easy.

1) My religious beliefs are just that mine. I have never had an abortion and never will (except for a medical reason or a rape). ETA I just read the two stories and these are what I am referring to. What a tough decision to make.
2) I vote economic.
3) Abortion is so far down my list that by the time I got to it as the deciding factor the two candidates would have to all but be clones.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Agree. If American Catholics followed the rules of the Dogma, the pews and schools would be scarce.

 

[talulabelle]

Catholicism and Christianity are two different sets of beliefs. Many aspects are similar or "related" but they are not one and the same.

????????????????huh?, that's funny and all this time I thought I was Catholic and Christian. Sorry, I just have to pop in to say you are dead wrong. Catholics are followers of Christ and his teachings, therefore we are Christians. In fact all other Christian religions broke from the Catholic church or a Church that had already broken from the Catholic Church which was the original Christian Church which was started by Christ himself with the apostle Peter being the first Pope of the Church. Remember the whole thing from the Bible "on this rock I will build my Church" ???? Honestly.

There are so many people that are misinformed and uneducated about the Catholic religion that pass judgement on us. I GET SO TIRED OF IT.

 

[elizke]

I'm not sure I understand your rationale, that you are exempt from any hypocrisy since you don't go to church or think much about your religion. At the same time you DO spend time thinking about those who go to church and whether they follow their religions properly. I think it's important to look at one's own life before that of others.

And many Catholics (and other people of faith) believe abortion is morally wrong but not for the government to police for us.

 

[MossMan]

Catholicism and Christianity are two different sets of beliefs. Many aspects are similar or "related" but they are not one and the same.

I would hope you mean that Catholicism and Protestantism are different. They are both most decidedly Christian though. They both provide an opportunity for Christians to practice the Christian faith - though with some differences.

 

[TeresaNJ]

This has been bothering me most of my adult life. How do you go to chruch on Sundays 52 weeks a year and follow the teachings of the pop yet still vote democrat with so many of them if not all being pro abortion? I mean either you beliee in the teachings of your church and follow their doctirne or why show up?
I was rasied catholic, don't go to church for a variety of reasons yet still consider myself a catholic and my children as well. However I do not devote the time and energy into the church enough for it to reflect on my politcal views.However some do and should yet they are in my mind hypocrites once they hit that polling booth.
Could someone explain the hypocrisy of it to me?

This also might apply to other religions though I am not sure as I have only spent time in the Catholic and Episocalian churches.

You said it, one word describes it, and that is "Hypocrisy".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You said it, one word describes it, and that is "Hypocrisy".

It is.

However the "cafeteria Catholics" have a odd relationship with the Vatican.

I was one of those people that believed you can be Catholic and be a Democrat.

No longer. It was very freeing to realize that I could never support the Catholic Churches principles and will no longer turn a blind eye.

Now of course I support no organized religion. All I see is HATE.

 

[NMAmy]

This has been bothering me most of my adult life. How do you go to chruch on Sundays 52 weeks a year and follow the teachings of the pop yet still vote democrat with so many of them if not all being pro abortion? I mean either you beliee in the teachings of your church and follow their doctirne or why show up?

I am not being snarky here so please take this in the spirit it is intended. I'm not Catholic but I've wondered how Republican Catholics justify their support of the Iraq war when the Pope has spoken out against it?

 

[Avalon_toon]

I'm not Catholic, but I did run across this site a while ago... I found it very interesting... Catholics for Obama

 

[Laura]

Just as Democratic Catholics vote on more than one issue so feel fine voting for liberal candidate who is for (partial birth) abortions, I, as a Republican Catholic vote on more than one issue so feel perfectly fine voting for a Republican candidate even if he/she is for guns etc...we pick what our issues are when we vote.

We don't vote on one issue. We pick what issues are most important to us. For me it's to vote for a candidate that is against abortion and stem cell research.

Neither side is a perfect 'Catholic' candidate.

Well said. I've always been a Democrat, but I used to be a pro-life Catholic. It never seemed to me that it was a hypocritical way to be, as I've never been a one-issue voter. And you are right--both major parties have platforms that go against many Catholic beliefs. Abortion, war, the death penalty....

 

[momto2girls]

That's a good question, OP. My next door neighbor is Catholic and she says that everyone in her church is very much anti-abortion. However, Catholics from other parishes are more liberal and some of them are Democrats and pro-abortion. I would think that the Pope is very clear on his stance, but I guess some Catholics just pick and choose what they want to believe in. I don't know how they justify it, but I guess they reconcile it in their minds somehow.

 

[mirmartinez]

I (like many others) have catholic friends.
one of them described their view of their church.
She said she loved being catholic, Mass made her feel closer to god.
She also said, she does not agree with everything. However,she believed the church has evolved and will continue to do so.
She told me Catholics used to view woman has being soulless and were treated as such.
She said the church today will not be the church of tommorow.

 

[dvcgirl]

I can't answer the "why", but I can tell you that most Catholics I know are pro-choice. I was raised in the Catholic church but no longer practice any form of organized religion. I do believe in God, but I have a lot of issues with the Catholic Church.

I also know a few *older* catholics who are pro-life. I don't know if that's a trend throughout Catholicism, but that's how it is with folks I know. I also live in the more liberal northeast, so that may have something to do with it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I (like many others) have catholic friends.
one of them described their view of their church.
She said she loved being catholic, Mass made her feel closer to god.
She also said, she does not agree with everything. However,she believed the church has evolved and will continue to do so.
She told me Catholics used to view woman has being soulless and were treated as such.
She said the church today will not be the church of tommorow.

Yea, I used to be that too. Then I woke up.

 

[mjkacmom]

That's a good question, OP. My next door neighbor is Catholic and she says that everyone in her church is very much anti-abortion. However, Catholics from other parishes are more liberal and some of them are Democrats and pro-abortion. I would think that the Pope is very clear on his stance, but I guess some Catholics just pick and choose what they want to believe in. I don't know how they justify it, but I guess they reconcile it in their minds somehow.

Masterbation is a sin in the Catholic church, birth control is a sin, not attending weekly Mass is a sin - good luck finding someone who is Catholic who agrees 100% with the Pope!

 

[Laura]

Masterbation is a sin in the Catholic church, birth control is a sin, not attending weekly Mass is a sin - good luck finding someone who is Catholic who agrees 100% with the Pope!

Exactly.

 

[freckles and boo]

That's a good question, OP. My next door neighbor is Catholic and she says that everyone in her church is very much anti-abortion. However, Catholics from other parishes are more liberal and some of them are Democrats and pro-abortion. I would think that the Pope is very clear on his stance, but I guess some Catholics just pick and choose what they want to believe in. I don't know how they justify it, but I guess they reconcile it in their minds somehow.

People of all denominations and religions do this.

 

[tinker&belle]

I'm a Christian and although I am against abortions happening, that doesn't necessarily mean I support legislation. Then, people will continue to have them in private and many times unsafe conditions. There are also situations of health, incest and rape.

I support education on sex and protection (even though I believe abstinance is preferable, I am realistic). I also think we need more resources for pregnant young mothers and more inexpensive adoption programs. IMHO that will lead to less abortions than a ruling from a judge.

I am also opposed to the death penalty, war, giving tax breaks and money shelters to the rich while letting the middle and poor suffer.

Back to abortion, I really can't see a republican appoint judges to get rid of Roe v. Wade, so that can't be a deal breaker for me.