Buddhist Involvement in Politics

THIS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE POLITICAL OPINIONS OF THE UBA AT UCLA. THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF HOW BUDDHISTS ARE POLITICALLY ACTIVE. WE ARE A ACADMEIC/RELIGIOUS STUDENT GROUP WITH NO POLITICAL LEANINGS.

Election Day is just a day away and everyone is hyped to see the outcome of this year's presidential elections. While the Buddhist vote isn't a major deciding factor in this election, it is still interesting to think about what political party Buddhist may lean closer to. Daniel Burke from the Religious News Service writes an article on just that:

"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."

"The 500 members of "Buddhists for Obama" have raised more than $230,000, sponsored 1,700 events and made 26,000 calls for their candidate, according to Obama's Web site. There's no Buddhist group listed for Republican nominee Sen. John McCain; a request to his campaign for information went unanswered."