Students must demonstrate the ability to identify, assemble, and Research Paper

Students must demonstrate the ability to identify, assemble, and disseminate extant information relating to a topic in - Research Paper Example 205). Majority of Americans, whether supporters of the Republicans, the Democrats or Independent candidates, have repeatedly put into perspective the religious beliefs, values, and principles of political contenders in the run up to the country’s elections. For instance, religious affiliations of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Bill Clinton, George Bush, John F. Kennedy, William Howard, Ronald Reagan, and Barrack Obama among others played significant part in view of their chances to clinch the presidency. While most of these candidates were purportedly Christians going by the official membership, American electorates also considered a number of them Muslims, deists, or even atheists (Newport, p. 205). In essence, religious affiliations always became subject of scrutiny and criticism during political campaigns and had significant impact in the candidate’s ability to articulate his plans and schema for the country and citizens. Controversies that surrounded Mitt Romney ’s religious affiliations played a role in his shocking loss to President Obama. Review of Literature Religious affiliations of political candidates have boosted or narrowed down their chances to clinch the presidency and other political positions in the United States. ... Even political parties have been subject of scrutiny as far as religion is concerned. In essence, most allegations lack substantial proof and attestation. Various scholars have attested to the issue of religious belief and affiliation especially during campaign periods in America. According to Fisher and Koch (2004, p. 62), Roman Catholics emerged as the most preferred religious affiliation by most presidents. However, their book The Entrepreneurial College President, indicate a huge disparity in terms of the chances that a Roman Catholic presidential candidate has to become an effective president of the Unites States. Hence, there is serious underrepresentation of the Roman Catholics by considering the number of effective presidents they ever produced since the country attained its political independence. In their analysis, a meager 24.5 percent indicated preference for a Roman Catholic president (Fisher & Koch, p. 62). The trend is more shocking when one considers the Baptist presi dential representation. Apparently, Americans who subscribe to the Baptist denomination constitute a skimpy 16.3 percent of the entire population. The mainstream Protestant denominations such as the Lutheran, the Methodist, and Presbyterian are surprisingly overrepresented despite their minimal frequency in the entire country’s population. According to Fischer and James, the Presbyterian Church constitutes less than 3 percent (precisely 2.7 percent) yet it enjoys massive representation in the overall presidency outlook (Fisher & Koch, p. 62). However, the study indicated no preference for a Muslim president notwithstanding realism of the religion constituting a significant percentage of the