Judges 19-21 Is religion in politics important?

This is the story of a Levite who was traveling with his concubine and when they entered the town of Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin some of the wicked men of the city threatened him. (Very similar to the story in Genesis 19 of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) This man throws his concubine out to them instead and they rape and beat her to death. The man cuts her body into pieces which he sends all over evil to make them aware of the vile and evil ways in Benjamin which sends them to war.

Judges 17, 18, 19, and 21 all have the phrase "In those days, the Israelites had no king" and two of those were followed with "and everyone did as he saw fit". This is actually the last phrase of the book of Judges. If I remember my history from the book of Kings correctly I don't think that Israel did much better when they had kings. I'm thinking through if this changes how I feel about Christians being involved in politics. It seems that when there is no godly leadership that the country disintegrates into evil behavior. Honestly, I have been skeptical of politicians who use their religious beliefs to help them get elected. I'm honestly not sure what the right balance is. I do know this - God knows the right people to have in our government and leadership positions and so we just need to pray for his direction and that the leadership He provides is best for the spiritual welfare of the community.

I really haven't thought about it this way before. I've always kind of separated religion and politics in my mind. I've been thinking more about their position on taxing small businesses than I have how their influence will contribute to the moral climate. This really gives me something to consider - new lenses to see the candidates through. I can't know their heart, I must rely on God's direction in the voting booth.