Always a Religious Reason to Pick a Candidate

There are religious reasons not to vote at all. A true Christian following Jesus Christ’s example would stay neutral when it came to politics. A Christian would not look to politics to solve mankind’s problems. History has shown politics is not the answer.
Jesus declined to get involved in politics.
Jesus' response was based on at least three factors: his Father's view of expressions of human self-determination, which include human rule; Jesus' awareness that there are powerful, hidden forces working against even the best human efforts at rulership; and God's purpose to establish a heavenly government to rule over the entire earth.
Jesus stayed out of politics because he knew that at a future set time, God would establish a heavenly government to rule over the earth. The Bible calls this government God's Kingdom, and it was the main theme of Jesus' teaching. (Luke 4:43; Revelation 11:15) Jesus taught his disciples to pray for that Kingdom to come, for only under its rule will 'God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' (Matthew 6:9, 10)
Daniel 2:44 says, "In the days of those kings [ruling at the end of the present system] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these [man-made] kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite." God's Kingdom will have to "crush" earthly rulerships because these insist on perpetuating the God-defying spirit of self-determination promoted by Satan back in the garden of Eden. In addition to working against mankind's best interests, those who strive to perpetuate that spirit put themselves on a collision course with the Creator. (Psalm 2:6-12; Revelation 16:14, 16)

Jesus always did things God's way. Instead of choosing an independent course and trying to prop up or improve the existing system of things by political means, he worked hard to advance the interests of God's Kingdom, the only solution to the world's ills.

God's Kingdom is the real key to a truly happy world, and the message announcing it is rightly described as good news.

In order to help people make an informed decision about rulership, Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach the "good news of the kingdom . . . in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations" before the end of the present system comes. (Matthew 24:14)

This is the message all true Christians should preach: God’s Kingdom is the only solution to the world’s problems.

As a Catholic, I am aware of what misconceptions and distortions are common in my faith community. It actually makes me less trusting of politicians who trumpet their Catholic values.

If I were to choose according to what faith a candidate professes, I would tend to go for neo-pagans, humanists, (Christian and secular) agnostics and Jews. Jewish people tend to be more self-reflective than we Christians and Muslims. Most of the others are too doctrinaire.

By the way, most committed atheists are more intolerant than Dobson. A truly tolerant secularist admits to the possibility of there being a G-d.

If you wanted G-d to offer more choices, how about not blithely writing of the atheists and agnostics who tend to be humanist. which frankly is not a bad thing.

SSTELTER:
That is a nice thought, but at least a little naive. People will vote with their beliefs, valid and rational or irrational and baseless in fact. Look at the article on Dobson in these forums. There are scads of people who will believe that crap and reading it will affect their vote. They are willing to sacrifice reasoned contemplation and evidence, (or lack of it), for emotion driven impulses, fears and hatreds when looking at issues. It is just true. That is why an informed citizenry is essential to a working democracy, to borrow the phrase from my public radio station.
Further, religion touches many peoples core beliefs, indeed may form their core beliefs, that form their opinions and choices. And votes.

The problem with religious people is that they confuse morality with religion. Yes, one should consult one's moral compass as a guide when voting. But it is wrong to apply faith to a voting decision. It is wrong for me to subject you to my untestable and non-rational faith in a way that will affect your freedom, happiness and opportunity.