With so much ink and internet lettering spilled on Christian “values voters” this election season—it’s easy to believe they’re the only religious one’s out there. But, there’s a new bloc of religious voters beginning to flex their muscles—Buddhists.
A significant number of Buddhist immigrants who fled communist regimes in Southeast Asia tend to be politically conservative, which could help Republican candidate Sen. John McCain. But a solid majority of American Buddhists are converts, who tend to be liberal, and many back Democrat Barack Obama.
McCain’s latest tactic of using “socialist/Marxist” smears against Obama lead to an odd irony: many of those Buddhists voting for McCain come from the land where the former Navy pilot was held as a prisoner of war.
Venerable Vien Duc, abbot of the Auspicious Cloud Monastery in Haymarket, Va., said many of his fellow Vietnamese-Americans support the GOP because of its tough anti-communist stance during the Cold War.
“The typical Vietnamese, because they suffered with communism, don’t want anything associated with it,” he said of communism.
In Broomfield, Colo., Charles Martin, an American-Indian Buddhist Republican, said his support for McCain has everything to do with his religious practice.
“I think Buddhism is inherently rather libertarian,” said Martin. “You examine things for yourself and finally save yourself. That leads me in general to not liking a lot of kinds of government intervention.”
Other Buddhists, however, examine their beliefs and come out for Obama:
Several Buddhists said Obama’s message of unity accords with Dharma teachings on interconnectedness and the dangers of an us-versus-them dualism. Morever, they say, the Democrat’s background reflects the Buddha’s belief that all beings can become enlightened, regardless of race or class.
“I think his candidacy has brought to the forefront issues of multi-racial identity for U.S. citizens,” said Mushim Patricia Ikeda-Nash, a Buddhist teacher in Oakland, Calif.
Whether they vote Republican or Democrat, it appears that if a Buddhist meets a ballot on the road this November, they’ll be sure to punch it.
