This, my letter to the editor, is about my Christian faith. Religion, specifically Christianity, may not be important to many, but it is important to me, and I am going to exercise my First Amendment right of free speech in expressing my opinion based on some very important facts.

I will be the first to admit, there are a lot of people I know personally who think as I do and far better qualified to speak on this subject, however, as a Christian I feel an obligation to speak up about what I know.

Polls show Democrats, generally speaking, are less religious than Republicans. More Republican voters go to church than Democrats and that’s just a small part of the proof there is a huge difference between our two political parties when it comes to religion in our politics and government. Of course, going to church in and of itself doesn’t come close to telling the whole story.

Republicans have more conservatives than do Democrats. That’s a no-brainer. What does that mean? Obviously, people in one group believe in traditional values more than the other about what made this country the greatest nation on earth. Those traditional values include Christian beliefs.

Conservative Democrats high up in our government are few and far between. There are many conservative Republicans. Those facts alone prove my point about which group is more religious, but there is lots more to prove my case and may take another letter. The divide is huge and involves a multitude of issues and not just abortions.

I am appealing to people to use their minds, look at the facts, and not vote next year on emotion alone – or because Mom and Dad or grandparents voted Democrat. I changed the way I vote years ago after thoroughly studying the differences in the two parties. Actually, I didn’t have to do a thorough study. But note, anybody that has read my previous letters knows I have issues with Republicans in Congress, but it’s nothing like one’s other choice.

My letter is not about winning or losing an argument. My brother up north says, “Les, you have to win at everything.” No, that’s not it. In the spirit of Christmas (religiously speaking), maybe we should all be thinking about what is right for this country morally. There is lots that’s wrong. And, by the way, Thomas Jefferson did not profess “separation of church and state” as a bunch of liberal Supreme Court justices claimed. Not true!

The Democrat Party is run by secularists who reject, in a number of ways, Christian beliefs. It is obvious and it is a fact, our current president is a secularist. Obama said, “We are no longer a Christian nation.” He even chastised Christians whom he said “killed in the name of God” as he tried to justify Muslim behavior.

Obama’s refugee program currently is to let Muslims from Syria migrate to the U.S., but not Christians. He has done absolutely nothing about the genocide of Christians in the Middle East and even refuses to talk about it.

Let me be clear. I will vote for any party that has Christian values. The Democrat Party threw those values under the bus in the ‘60s. Hello friends, relatives and readers! The party mentioned has completely changed. It is nothing like it was a long time ago. Not even close.

Democrats now cater to those who believe in abortion as a right, but not pro lifers. Abortion is the biggest elephant in the room, but far from being the only one. For example, the Christian view calls for the traditional conservative marriage of a man and a woman. Dems are for same sex marriage and promote LGBT agendas.

When in doubt, according to the Democrat playbook, do the un-Christian thing and call Republicans racist, homophobes, bigots, war on women, etc. That Republicans are those things is a myth, better still – a lie! “Love thy neighbor” as the Bible says better describes Democrat opponents and that is a fact.

You might say my writing is especially directed at the many people I know who share the same Christian values I do. Many are more religious than I am. But I ask “why in the world are you voting in a way that is diametrically opposed to your beliefs?” Why haven’t you changed when the party you support has changed dramatically?

How about a rebuttal to what I say in this letter, particularly by a Christian Democrat that shares my same religious beliefs and values?

Most argue that their party is for the little guy and especially for the poor and that is a Christian thing. No, Republicans are not for the rich and Democrats for the poor. That’s a myth! If so, why is Obama in bed with the richest people in the world like George Soros and Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and others? He is in bed with Hollywood and no way does that entity represent my Christian values or yours.

If Democrats are for the poor why hasn’t the “war on poverty,” going back to FDR (a Democrat), been a success? Under Democrat Obama more people have ended up in poverty than when he took office in 2009 and that’s a fact. The incomes of the little guy, on the average, have gone down under this administration and that’s a fact.

Is it moral to deliberately get as many people on government welfare programs, knowing they will then vote Democrat? People on food stamps, unemployment, etc. has gone through the roof in the last seven years. Most of us believe that work has far more value than living off the government but our president wants as many people dependent on government, rather than on themselves. Is that moral? Is that Christian?

I can and will provide more to make my case. God bless all.

Les Knoll lives in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.