Do you vote how your clergy says to?

[sharon]

This question is for those that attend a house of prayer -

Does your clergy ever talk about issues up for vote? Do you find you tend to agree or disagree with his/her stance? Would you consider changing your vote based on what your clergy said?

[sharon]

Yesterday our Rabbi gave a beautiful and very impassioned sermon about Abraham and Sarah's poor treatment of Hagar and how it tells us to vote no on the "Voter ID." As you know, I already agreed with him, as I think voting no on this horrible amendment is the only ethical choice. I was very touched and gratified to hear him talk so passionately about it and to share Biblical reasons why we can't mistreat others that way.

But I can't imagine I'd change my mind based on something my rabbi said in a sermon. I guess if I didn't have a formed opinion I might - but if I've researched something and figured out what the ethical stance is, then I would not reverse it b/c my rabbi told me so.

I might however re-examine my choice of rabbi! I happen to go to a wonderful synagogue and our rabbi is very strongly ethical and talks about social justice frequently. But if that were not so and he did something like speak out in FAVOR of taking the vote away from people, I'd be likely to change synagogues.

[bunsy]

Nope.

[jo2]

My son and I are VERY Catholic....but, this is one area we can't agree with our church on. I sometimes feel like I am betraying my faith, but I just can't see their point in this.

[onlyoneboy]

I agree with Bunsy. NOPE!

[laurac]

Mine hasn't brought it up.

One point, my husband was ready to vote yes. Just last night he said that upon further review and understanding of the topic, he's changing that to no. That there are more reasons to vote no than yes. That's a huge step for him.

[supermommy]

Don't have a clergy. That's my whole issue with organized religion, I don't think it's okay for anyone to tell me how I should think.

[dara1012]

My pastor would not change my mind about a topic in terms of voting the way she would encourage her congregation to, but I do strive to be open minded and listen to other sides of the discussion.

But our pastor does not tell us how to vote, if our congregation votes to take a stand on a social justice issue she typically remains neutral.

[sharon]

Sept 19, 2012 5:03:30 GMT -6 jo2 said:

My son and I are VERY Catholic....but, this is one area we can't agree with our church on. I sometimes feel like I am betraying my faith, but I just can't see their point in this.

I knew they were strongly anti-marriage, but didn't realize they were in favor of voter suppression too. Well, no one is perfect.

[sharon]

One thing that was nice was that the sermon on my synagogue led to us discussing the voting amendment at our holiday dinner. One of our guests had not really learned about the amendment and had the first reaction those who are uninformed often do - "What's the big deal about making people have ID to vote?" which led to many of us sharing information and now he knows why it IS a big deal.
So I think if it's an issue that someone doesn't know much about yet, having clergy talk about it can definitely have an impact.

[quirky22]

Oh god no. I am an individual, and no one is going to sway me!!!

[cwolbeck]

I currently don't have a clergyman and I will vote no!

[ReneeW]

The pastors at the church I attend would NEVER tell the congregation how to vote, and that's how I like it. A lot of sermons are about treating each other (and especially people you consider different than yourself) with love, kindness, caring, understanding, compassion, NOT being judgmental, being Jesus's hands in the world, and that you can learn a lot about God by learning about people of other faiths and backgrounds.

[Susan824]

No ... and I don't feel guilty about it either.