The Right Story on Democrats and Faith

Finally, the right angle. 

The Chicago Tribune headline says: “Democrats find religion on campaign trail; GOP seems to be avoiding talk of faith.”

The article itself — written by Mike Dorning — recognizes the emphasis that Democratic candidates have placed on faith as a source of their values:

Former Sen. John Edwards invoked “My Lord” in the first Democratic presidential debate when asked about moral influences on his life. At a campaign event on the day of the Virginia Tech massacre, he offered a prayer and—in a pointed break from Democratic candidates’ usual wariness of offending religious minorities—closed with the words “in Christ’s name.”

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) comfortably works in references to his faith at public appearances. Even before his presidential candidacy, he gave a well-received speech arguing for a greater role for religion in politics and cultivated relationships with influential church leaders, including mega-church pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) included a paragraph about faith in the official biography on her campaign Web site. And in her Senate re-election campaign last year, she drew notice in the New York press for wearing a cross at some public events.
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“Give the advantage to the Democrats at this point,” said Rich Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. “You would have to conclude that the Democrats have a lot more interest in faith than the Republicans based on what they’ve had to say.”
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Cizik is right.  Any non-knee-jerk assessment of the presidential contenders this year would reveal that the ones on the Democratic side are expressing their faith more than the Republicans are.

Not that faith should (or legally can) be a litmus test for public office.  But the fact is that many voters believe elected officials shouldn’t shy away from speaking publicly about their faith.  This year, Democrats aren’t being timid at all.  And the media is finally taking notice.