With the party conventions over and the Democratic and Republican tickets set, the two-month sprint to Election Day on Nov. 4 begins – and in that race, religion is playing a major role. Among the factors at play in the coming political drama: Barack Obama’s publicly professed Christianity and the controversy over the former pastor of his Chicago church; the abortion-rights, social-justice record of his Catholic running mate, Joseph Biden; John McCain’s feud and reconciliation with the religious right; and his running mate Sarah Palin’s strong but nondenominational Christianity, as well as her rejection of abortion while facing the birth of a special-needs child and the pregnancy of her unmarried teenage daughter.
This edition of ReligionLink aims to frame the issues and provide an easy-to-use database of resources that will be updated throughout the campaign.
Why it matters
Religious faith and religious culture remain core components of the nation’s political dynamic, and of discussions in the public square about public policy. These characteristics are never more salient than during a presidential election campaign.
The candidates
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has extensive resources at its 2008 campaign site. Pew also provides detailed biographies and religious background profiles for each candidate.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is the Democratic nominee for president. A Christian, Obama attended Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for most of his adult life. In May 2008, he left that congregation after an uproar over comments and sermons by the church’s controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The Obama family has not settled on a new congregation. In the Aug. 7, 2008, edition of Time magazine, Obama wrote a brief essay, “Changing Hearts and Minds,” which sets out his personal faith story.
Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware is the Democratic nominee for vice president. Biden was born and raised Catholic in Scranton, Pa. He is considered a moderate supporter of abortion rights, and his stance on Roe v. Wade has brought him into conflict with some church leaders. An Aug. 27, 2007, Christian Science Monitor profile of Biden, “A Frank and Abiding Faith,” is a good starting point for exploring Biden’s personal religious views.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona is the Republican nominee for president. McCain was raised an Episcopalian but in recent years has gravitated toward North Phoenix Baptist Church. McCain said his wife and two of their seven children have been baptized there, but he has not, though he is weighing the possibility. In the Aug. 7, 2008, edition of Time magazine, John McCain wrote a brief essay, “A Light Amid the Darkness,” which sets out his personal faith story.
Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is the Republican nominee for vice president. Palin was reportedly baptized Catholic as an infant but then attended Assemblies of God churches while growing up, though she says she does not identify as a Pentecostal. Palin attends a number of nondenominational Protestant churches in Anchorage. A post at Christianity Today’s “Election 2008” site rounds up what is known of Palin’s religious upbringing and affiliations. Also see a Sept. 3, 2008, interview with her biographer, Kaylene Johnson, conducted for Beliefnet by the editor of the God-o-Meter site, Dan Gilgoff. The biography is Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down.
The platforms
The Republican Party platform for 2008 is available at the party’s Web site in a 67-page PDF file.
The Democratic Party platform for 2008 is titled “Renewing America’s Promise.” Read the draft of the 56-page document in a PDF file.
The voters
An August Pew Forum survey showed that a majority of Americans (52 percent) now believe churches should stay out of “day-to-day social and political matters,” a change from a decade earlier. Much of the shift has come from conservative voters who may have become disillusioned with the track record of the Bush administration.
At the same time, voters say that faith is important to them and that they want their leaders to be people of faith. Moreover, McCain’s selection of Palin, a conservative Christian, energized voters on the religious right, demonstrating how important religion is, especially to the Republican Party.
• Read a survey, “Religious Voters in the 2008 Election,” released in June 2008, from the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. The study gauged the political attitudes and preferences of mainline Protestants, Roman Catholics, evangelicals and religiously unaffiliated voters.
• ReligionLink has links to the major polling organizations that will be tracking voter views through Election Day. Public Agenda, a nonprofit research organization, posts “20 Questions Journalists Should Ask About Poll Results,” as well as other resources for reporters.
• Note also that on Sept. 20, 2008, in Washington, D.C., there will be a session on “Surveying Surveys” as part of the Religion Newswriters Association annual conference. The session is designed to help journalists interpret polls and determine what they say and which are trustworthy.
(Editor’s note: Additional content updated here.)
