Another Response to Religion and Politics: Alexis Noel

If you were to think back to the "Gone with the Wind" era of the South and of the people living in it, what political affiliation would you think to tag on them? My first inclination was to see them as conservative, but why? What makes them seem to have more conservative ideology rather than a democratic mindset? I feel as though it all boils down to religion.

Stereotypically, the more religious you are (more Christian), the more likely you are to be a Republican. This may have sprouted from the environment, where if you lived on a large plantation in the south (where your neighbors were miles away from you), you were more likely to accept the ideologies of your mother and father rather than gathering information from others and formulating your own decision. However, if you were to live in a large, bustling city (such as up north), more ideas would be circulating and people would be more likely to think for themselves and break away from the traditional family ideals. Christian southerners may have thought that only the word of God should be directing them in life, rather than the Government. If a law is to be passed, they will fight their way to keep it from happening (the desire to keep things the same).

In an article comparing religion and politics, Neal Gabler comments on religious conservatives: "The fundamentalist political fanatics will always be more zealous than mainstream conservatives or liberals. They will always be louder, more adamant, more aggrieved, more threatening, more willing to do anything to win. Losing is inconceivable. For them, every battle is a crusade -- or a jihad -- a matter of good and evil." [1] In a way, religion puts the fire behind their beliefs. How could you not be passionate when you believe so deeply in an ideology?

However, times are changing. Not all Republicans are religious, and not all Democrats are unaffiliated. I, for example, believe in many of the conservative viewpoints but am not religious. Due to the explosion of connectivity in every day life (cell phones, internet, television etc.), people are more likely to form their own viewpoints from their own observations than follow old family ideologies.