Sam Brownback
Roman Catholic (raised Methodist)
When announcing his candidacy in January, Brownback told the audience “for goodness’ sakes, the last thing we need in America is to take God out of our public lives and institutions!” His campaign website states that religion is “today being eradicated from nearly every aspect of public life,” a development he vows to fight.
Sources: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (accessed July 8), Brownback for President, “Brownback Announces Run for President” (accessed July 8,)
Rudy Giuliani
Roman Catholic
In a 1994 speech, Giuliani told the audience: “For me, being a Catholic is not limiting but liberating.” As a twice-divorced, pro-choice, pro-embryonic-stem-cell research presidential candidate, however, he has tested the limits of some conservative Christians. Last month, Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin wrote: “Rudy’s public proclamations on abortion are pathetic and confusing. Even worse, they’re hypocritical.” In March, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention derided Giuliani’s second divorce as “divorce on steroids.”
Sources: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (accessed July 8), The New York Times (April 21, 1994), The Associated Press (June 4 and March 7)
Mike Huckabee
Baptist
On his campaign website, the former pastor states, “We should not banish religion from the public square.” Huckabee continues, through his website, “Our nation was birthed in a spirit of faith,” and “I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer.”
Sources: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (accessed July 8), Mike Huckabee for President (accessed July 8,
?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=9)
Duncan Hunter
Baptist
Hunter believes that the Founding Fathers guaranteed “the right of all citizens to worship and to protect the church from the state, not to strip religion from the everyday lives of Americans.” As for judicial appointments, the anti-abortion, anti-gay-marriage, anti-embryonic- stem-cell-research Hunter states, “I support people with good judgment, proven values, a belief in God, and a heart for the least of us, including the unborn.”
Sources: Official site of Duncan Hunter for US President in 2008 (accessed July 8), The Associated Press (March 12), The Washington Post online (accessed July 9,-presidential-candidates /duncan-hunter)
John McCain
Episcopalian
McCain states on his campaign website that faith means “I have a purpose, and that purpose I think is to live a life based on Judeo-Christian principles and honor and integrity.” Though he is anti-abortion, some conservative Christians disagree with McCain’s support of embryonic stem-cell research and his moderate stance on gay marriage. During his 2000 presidential campaign, McCain called evangelical leaders Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell “agents of intolerance.” Although he has mended some fences, others, such as Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, remain opposed to McCain capturing the Republican nomination.
Sources: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (accessed July 9), McCain “Faith” video (accessed on John McCain 2008 on July 9), The Associated Press (March 12 and Feb. 14)
Ron Paul
Baptist
In an April 2005 essay, Paul points out hypocrisies he sees that result from mixing faith and politics. Paul writes, “Most religious institutions abandoned their independence long ago, and now serve as cheerleaders for state policies like social services, faith-based welfare, and military aggression in the name of democracy.” The government, he writes, “has co-opted religion and family as the primary organizing principle of our society.”
Sources: Theology, not Politics (www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst041105.htm, accessed July 10)
Tom Tancredo
Presbyterian
“As a devout Christian, father, and grandfather, I am a strong believer in the right to life for the unborn child,” Tancredo states on his campaign website. As president, Tancredo would appoint “strict constructionists as judges” and support “constitutional amendments that respect life.”
Sources: The Washington Post online (accessed July 10,-presidential-candidates
/tom-tancredo), Tancredo for President (accessed July 11, teamtancredo
), Tancredo abortion statement (accessed July 11,)
Tommy Thompson
Roman Catholic
Thompson bills himself as a “reliable conservative.” The former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an abortion foe who also opposes gay marriage.
Sources: The Washington Post online (accessed July 11,-presidential-candidates/tommy-thompson), Tommy Thompson for President (accessed July 11,
)
COMPILED BY BARRY OSBORNE OF THE DENVER POST RESEARCH LIBRARY
