Tongue Tyed: Nov 9, 2006

Nov 9, 2006

Elected in a Church by the State

Since the greatest of excitement has mostly died down about the elections, I would like to ask you all a question.

Do you think it is strange that we (sometimes) vote in churches (or other houses of worship)?

Tuesday when I voted, I was sent to a church about a mile from my house. The convenience was nice, but something about voting in a church rubbed me the wrong way. It took some thinking, but I realized why it bothers me. Separation of Church and State. Isn't that the reason this country was founded? A belief that the church and the state should not be influencing one another? Yet, there I stood, smack dab in the middle of a church voting for my government of choice.

I understand the reasoning behind using churches. They are plentiful, communal, and have rooms of an appropriate size for the event. But it just seems inappropriate to me. There are plenty of government building to house the elections in. Police stations, firehouses, city hall, libraries, senior centers, community centers...is there really a need to use a house of worship for elections?

Perhaps I am being overly sensitive about this issue, but it bothers me. It's not that I feel as though the particular church I am in is going to try to influence my opinions, it's just that it doesn't seem like the appropriate forum in which to be voting for elected officials.

So far, the majority of the people I have mentioned this to have at first thought it was no big deal, but then after a minute or two of thought have come to the same conclusion that I have, that it is an inappropriate venue. I am curious what the Internets have to say, so if you have an opinion, please leave it in the comments.

Labels: NaBloPoMo, politics

posted by Ty @ 11/09/2006 | 3 comments

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