The political confession

Forty-seven years after the United States voters appeared to have settled the question of whether a candidate’s religion should have any bearing on his ability to serve as president, the issue again looms as a question in the 2008 race for the presidency.

The current debate is focused on Mitt Romney and his membership in the Mormon Church, but even Rudolph Giuliani is caught up in questions regarding his stand on abortion rights and Pope Benedict XVI’s recent hard line against Mexican lawmakers who advocate a woman’s right of choice.

Add to those factors the sudden death of Jerry Falwell, the conservative Christian leader, and rightly or wrongly, religion is in the presidential spotlight.

Does opposition to Mitt Romney based on his Mormon religion represent bigotry, or is it a fair factor in judging the character of a man who aspires to be president?

What role, if any, should a candidate’s personal religious belief play in a presidential campaign?

In 1928, Catholicism was considered a major issue when New York governor, Al Smith, a Catholic, gained the Democratic nomination after three tries and then lost to Herbert Hoover, a Protestant, by 6 million votes. There were other issues such as a Tammany Hall scandal and prohibition, but the question whether the pope would be able to dictate to the president was a key issue.

In 1960, John Kennedy attacked the religious problem early and aggressively. The Democratic nominee arranged to meet with a group of prominent Houston Protestant ministers in September and emerged from the meeting with the declaration from the pastors and from the candidate that church and state always should be separated. Kennedy said his religious beliefs were his private affair, but “if the time should ever come when my office would violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign from office.”

Long before the Kennedy meeting with the Houston ministers, Richard Nixon had given firm instructions to all of us on his staff that we must avoid making Kennedy’s Catholicism an issue. That order remained in effect throughout the campaign.

Looking back, Kennedy probably gained support from some who did not want to be labeled “bigots.” Once in office, Kennedy on numerous occasions proved that “he did not take orders from the Pope” and it appeared that religion was a past issue as far as the presidency was concerned.

John Kerry, a Catholic, ran against George Bush in 2004 but the religious factor was not an issue.

It is interesting that in the current contest for president, except for Messrs. Romney and Giuliani, few people know what church the current candidates attend.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards are Methodists, Fred Thompson is a member of the Church of Christ, and Barack Obama has been active in the United Church of Christ. John McCain is an Episcopalian, and Mr. Giuliani and Chris Dodd are Catholics. Duncan Hunter is a Baptist.

President Bush states his church denomination as Methodist, but he frequently attends St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington and the Prairie Chapel Church near his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Except for the flare-up over Mr. Giuliani, a Catholic who supports “pro-choice,” no questions regarding religious affiliation have been directed at anyone other than Mr. Romney, a Mormon, who has served as a governor of Massachusetts, a predominantly Catholic state.

In answer to a question whether the president believes a candidate’s personal religion should be an issue in selecting a president, Dan Bartlett, assistant to the president for communications, says: “The president believes his faith is an important part of who he is as a person and a leader. However, he believes the great strengths of our country is that people from all walks of life and faiths are treated equally. The American people choose a president based upon their qualifications and fitness to do the job.”

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