Have to vote in a church?

I recently moved from, Calfornia to Missouri. Don't get me wrong, I love this State (at least where I am). Trees year round, very little traffic, and friendly people. I went to register to vote this year. In Missouri you have to do it through the DMV, you can't do it through the post office. That was OK, I needed to upgrade my licence to a better picture any way. Three weeks later I got a letter saying that my designated polling place was "Ridgeway Baptist". My first thought was "when did churches become, polling places? Let's say like many, I am intimidated by churches. Many of you Christians out there are currently mumbling "blah, blah, blah.. about time you went to church anyway." and to you I reply "what if you had to go to a Mosque to vote?" Wow, contemplative silence. When did this start? Am I wrong to think of this as fundimentally wrong?

Most townships were built around the church as the center of life. What you are seeing is simply the end of an era where that still holds true.

I imagine there are towns surrounding you where you can hit the mason lodge or city hall to vote.

Sorry. Double post.

[edit on 30-6-2010 by zroth]

Sometimes a building is just a building.

I think it depends greatly on accessible buildings in the area.

dude its just a gathering place were people can cast their vote, religious or not, who gives a damn! I am not religious, but i like churches! Not because of religious factors though, just because the architecture! Chil.

I to sometimes get people saying, yeee you should go to church blablabla. You cant argue with these people, i tried, just cant get through. Just walk away.

reply to post by dreamwalker74


There are different kinds of phobias. Some people are afraid of spiders. Others are afraid of churches. But rather than changing everything about the world just to cope with those few people with phobias... like for example killing all spiders or something, we prefer for those people with the phobias to adjust their selves to the rest of the world.

In most cases churches are renting out their space to the local government for $0 and 0 cents. You should be thankful to the local church for saving you money.

The concept of church/state separation is that politicians shall not tell preachers what to do and politicians shall not tell preachers what to do. Pretty simple, really. And the church/state separation as defined by the US constitution does not go quite so far and simply states that the US government may not establish a church... like the church of Englad has done.

You seem to want complete separation of church and state which is both impossible and ridiculous, as people who go to church, especially the pastors, would not be allowed to vote. And people who are politicians would not be allowed to read religious books like the Christian Bible. I doubt you really envision something like that!

Its just fine to have voting in any building, such as a Mosque, bar, brothel, or even a strip club, especially if they are doing that to save people money. So long as people are not getting hurt by the specific location then its better to get over the discomforts of whatever the building brings and enjoy the savings.

Edit - If a very large number of people are uncomfortable in the building then sure it would be a good idea to move to another building for that reason regardless of the purpose of the discomfort. But something tells me the people in your area have no problem or discomfort in a baptist church.

[edit on 30-6-2010 by truthquest]

reply to post by dreamwalker74

Many of you Christians out there are currently mumbling "blah, blah, blah.. about time you went to church anyway."

Not this Christian. Going to vote in a church isn't really going to church anyway. I doubt that the pastor of the Baptist church that you mentioned is there preaching the Gospel to voters.

and to you I reply "what if you had to go to a Mosque to vote?"

I would go to the Mosque and vote. Why wouldn't I? It's just a building that people that practice a different faith that I practice go to.

When did this start?

Ever since I can remember. Down where I'm from in Florida it's practically only churches that are used as precincts. The church would be used because they tend to have large, open rooms where the booths can easily be set up in.

[edit on 6/30/2010 by octotom]