Religion in Politics

This morning, Mitt Romney relented and directly addressed the subject of how his Mormon faith would or would not influence his presidency. Since Mr. Romney's remarks on faith will be squarely in the spotlight over the next few days, it seemed like a good time to explore the intersection between religion and politics. Here then is a round-up of how each of the other top-tier candidates employ or eschew religion in his or her quest for the presidency.

Mike Huckabee. Given that the former governor of Arkansas is an ordained Baptist minister, Huckabee is a logical place to begin. He often invokes God on the campaign trail and at debates, most recently quipping that "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office." He's also on record as stating that he doesn't believe in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which may not be the liability that it seems. According to a recent Harris survey, more Americans believe in the literal existence of hell than the idea of natural selection. As to the practical effects Huckabee's religious beliefs, should he make it all the way to the White House, certainly he'd try to outlaw abortion in all 50 states, but he'd also be more inclined offer government assistance to help the poor than your run-of-the mill compassionate conservative.

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John Edwards. Also a Southern Baptist Methodist, John Edwards is somewhat similar to Huckabee in that he sees the lessons of Jesus as pointing to a moral imperative for government to care for its disadvantaged. In an interview with former Bush adviser, David Kuo, Edwards was asked what aspects of American culture he thought would rub Jesus the wrong way. Edwards:

"Our selfishness. Our resort to war when it's not necessary. I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually. "

And, like another politician with a Southern accent (I mean Jimmy Carter, but take your pick, actually), Edwards has talked openly bout his own propensity to sin, stating that he crosses the line, "every single day."



John McCain. The Arizona Senator is not one to trumpet his Episcopalian upbringing, even while courting Christian conservatives. In fact, some are confused as to why McCain currently attends a Phoenix Baptist Church. McCain says he finds,

"the message and fundamental nature more fulfilling that I did in the Episcopal church. ...They're great believers in redemption, and so am I."

As far as he's concerned, it isn't the denomination that matters, it's the fact that he's a Christian. As for practical matters, McCain has turned to prayer to help him decide his stance on the stem cell matter:

"It's very tough for those of us in the pro-life community," McCain told reporters. "I've prayed a lot about it, but I've come down on the side of support for embryonic stem cell research."

Barack Obama. No current candidate's religion has been the subject of greater scrutiny. Partly that's due to a simple lie that stems from a two-year stint at an elementary school in Indonesia (before he transferred to a Catholic one) and the middle name, Hussein. Obama is subject of an ongoing e-mail smear campaign that accuses the Baptist devotee of being a one-man Islamic sleeper cell (see Chris Weber's piece on one of the people behind the e-mails). An even more astonishing Internet reality has it that Barack is himself the anti-Christ. A Kenyan economist, Obama's father was raised a Muslim, but had become an atheist by the time his son was born. The candidate's white mother was raised by Baptist and Methodist parents, but grew skeptical about organized religion over time. Barack himself had his spiritual awakening in 1980's, when he started regularly attending Trinity United Church of Christ, the biggest congregation in the predominantly-white United Church of Christ. Like Edwards, Obama sees Biblical teachings as having a role to play in politics:

"I always remember Abraham Lincoln when, during the Civil War, he said, 'We shouldn't be asking whose side God is on, but whether we're on His side,'" he [Obama] said. "And I think that's the question that all of us have to ask ourselves... Are we advancing the causes of justice and freedom? Are we our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper? And that's how I measure whether what we're doing is right."

Fred Thompson. James Dobson has put pressure on Fred to come out with more forceful declarations of what role faith plays in the former senator's life, going so far as to state, "I don't think he's a Christian." A Thompson spokesman replied that, yes, Fred is a Christian, and was baptized into the Church of Christ. If that seems like a tepid response, it is because Mr. Thompson tends to keep his faith to himself. Not a regular churchgoer, Fred sums up his relationship with God this way:

"I'm OK with the Lord, and the Lord is OK with me, as far as I can tell."

And though Thompson would leave the legality of abortion up to the states, he has received the endorsement from the National Right To Life Committee.


Hillary Clinton. The former first lady cites the power of prayer as one factor that helped her get through the Monica Lewinsky years. A practicing Methodist, Clinton has not shied away from discussing her faith this election season. Like her rivals, she's spoken at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, where she received a standing ovation for her speech on the church's role in combating HIV/AIDS. Much like her Democratic opponents, her religion is the prism through which she view the major policy issues of the day:

"Children need us," said Mrs. Clinton. She cited Jesus as the chief motivation in her government healthcare initiative: "We know so well what Jesus said to his disciples in Mark, holding a small child in his arms, that whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me, but the one who sends me... Take the image we have of Jesus--I can remember so clearly walking up the stairs so many times to my Sunday School class, and seeing that picture that is in so many Methodist churches, of Jesus as the Shepherd. Taking that face and transposing it onto the face of every child we see, then we would ask ourselves, 'Would I turn that child away from the health care that child needs?'"

Rudy Giuliani. A practicing Catholic, Mr. Giuliani, like John Kerry before him, has run afoul of some priests and bishops for his liberal stance on abortion. Rudy is said to have once thought about becoming a priest himself, before the law and order pull proved too strong. These days, he'd just as soon that matters of faith were not discussed in political campaigns. To him, his religion and his three marriages should not be part of the public debate:

"I'll talk about it [Giuliani's private life] appropriately and in a way to preserve as much as I can the privacy of my family and my children, which I think any decent person would."

And, specifically, regarding the matter of faith:

"My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not so good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests. That would be a much better way to discuss it. That's a personal discussion and they have a much better sense of how good a Catholic I am or how bad a Catholic I am."

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