2012 Election

Ben Latham

8/5/12

Topic: 2012 Election

Politics and Religion

Politics and religion on the United States have always been interconnected and politics today continue to be influenced by religious morals. Jonathan Haidt has done significant research on the psychology of voters in America and his conclusions have become controversial and even frowned upon by liberals. One of his main questions is why are people divided by politics and religion in the United States? In general, conservatives are more religious than liberals making the democratic and republican parties divided by political and religious aspects. If Haidt’s conclusions are correct then they will distinctly influence the campaigns of the 2012 candidates in their efforts to persuade voters to choose them. His Moral Foundations Theory underlines morality in all societies and individuals which will be instrumental in the upcoming election. With this still in mind, Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory will be present in the campaign but won’t be as relevant as one would believe.

Good people are divided by politics and religion because most Americans have different moral values and beliefs. Conservatives and liberals are very different in dividing politics and religion. In general, liberals have their political principles influenced by social progression and moving the country into a new direction while conservatives have their political views influenced by religious beliefs and moral issues. Haidt believes that a politician shouldn’t win over voters with reason but “appeal to reason’s boss: the underlying moral intuitions whose conclusions reason defends.”1 This is where I personally disagree with Haidt because not appealing to reason won’t allow a country and its population to progress with the ever-changing world society. For instance, most southern republicans were severely against segregating schools in the south during the civil rights era. President Eisenhower, who was a republican...