Yes, it does matter, and those views are the first thing some of us look for in a candidate.

Beliefs shape a person's worldview and that affects their character, their treatment of issues, relationships, how they react to life, it influences everything about a person.

However, if someone has the same worldview and belief structure as I do, that does not mean I vote for them.

It's just one part of understanding the candidate. They still have to pass the test of having the wisdom and leadership skills necessary for political life.

But true to what you might expect from an evangelical Christian, I do want to know what Canadian political leaders believe about God, and so we asked them.

Elizabeth May, like six million other Canadians, attends church each week and described herself as among the league of Christians who "look at policies for ourselves, and we can ask ourselves, what would it be that the Scripture most asks us to do? And it's not to condemn others, it's not to be judgemental, it's to work to eradicate poverty. If there's any one simple message through Scripture that everyone can understand, it's the message to end poverty. That's what Jesus Christ asks us to do."
Jack Layton says he derives his entire concept of service from his upbringing in a home of staunchly held United Church faith views, and his teen education in his dad's Bible study class.

Mr. Dion described his beliefs as "hope," using his Roman Catholic upbringing as his point of reference, saying: "I hope that there is a God, who's a God of love and who is able to bridge all the religions of the world."

Mr. Harper and Mr. Duceppe's managers have not declined to answer the faith question, but they have yet to create a time to answer it. I believe they're stalling, hoping the deadline will pass.
I am a voter who listens carefully to fuzzy statements like that and I appreciate the limited dimension it adds to my evaluation process.

It is politics which hold the primary foundations for how systems are able to treat people.
As a Christian, that matters profoundly. Education, health care, justice, the economy, are all fundamental issues for the dignity of people, and all gifts of God's grace to our culture.

The more I can know about the people governing those ideals, the better.