The Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has released a guide for Catholics on how to vote in the upcoming election.

The guide focuses on issues that are important to Catholic teachings, stressing the church’s stance on abortion, war, poverty, contraception and homosexuality.

The voter’s guide, “Voting for the Common Good: A Practical Guide for Conscientious Catholics,” is joined by two more conservative Catholic voter guides, “Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics,” which was released in 2004 by the group called Catholic Answers, and “Faithful Citizenship,” released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said John Donaghy, lecturer of philosophy and religious studies and campus minister for St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 2210 Lincoln Way.

Some Catholics may wonder which guide to follow, Donaghy said.

“The first thing that Catholics need to do is look at the bishop’s guide, because that is the most comprehensive,” Donaghy said.

The church, Donaghy said, has an obligation to help its followers make the right decision when voting.

“The Catholic Church has a long history of speaking to both Catholics and the wider world on all the questions that affect the common good of society. The Church considers morality as a question not just of what we do personally or with one another, but what we do in terms of our public citizenship and our responsibility to others in our society,” Donaghy said.

It is common for secular political groups to release voter’s guides, but religious groups are not allowed to specifically endorse a political party or a candidate and keep their tax exemption status. The Catholic Church has received criticism that it may have crossed this line.

Sarah Sunderman, junior in marketing and president of the ISU Democrats, said the Catholic voting guides give favor to conservative candidates.

“When they say that candidates who are for abortion should not be voted for, that is when they are stepping over the line by making the voting decision for their members and making one issue more important than the others. When they specifically preach about how to vote, they are crossing that line between church and state,” Sunderman said.

Donald McDowell, junior in political science and president of the ISU College Republicans, said the Catholic Church didn’t abuse its power with the voter guides.

“People always look at the candidate and their beliefs and decide whether they match up with their own. So I don’t think that this crosses the barrier between church and state,” McDowell said.

The Catholic Church is promoting ideals, not candidates, McDowell said.

“Certain religions and religious leaders promote one side or another in their teachings, sermons or inherently in the way that the organization is organized. So in terms of promoting ideas and issues, I think that that is what churches have always done,” McDowell said.

Sunderman said she does not disagree with the church’s encouragement of being active in voting and politics.

“When they say to pray and make an informed voting decision, that is fine. And if for some people that means voting more conservatively because that is what they find more important, and for other Catholics it means voting liberal, then so be it,” Sunderman said.