Religion has become such a common element of presidential politics that during the first televised debate among the 2008 Republican candidates, a reporter asked if any did not believe in evolution — three Republicans raised their hands: Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo.
"To many Americans, religion is a very important part of their life and they are interested in how religiosity influences candidates," said John Green, a University of Akron political science professor and senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
"Where this election cycle is different," he said, "is that more of the Democratic candidates are speaking out about their faith, and they've organized their campaigns to appeal to religious voters."
The difference is that the democratic candidates(Edwards,Obama,Clinton and Richardson) even with there professed belief in a higher power, still believe in a separation of church and state.
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"When Facism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." -Sinclair Lewis
How is this not an attack on atheists and others not deeply interested in fundamental religion? Suppose an atheist with exceptional moral values wants to become President. Why should the fact whether he is religious or not and the type of his religion play a role in his chances?
I don't think words "faith" or "religion" are even appropriate in anything related to Presidential elections.
Obviously the three who raised their hands, were pandering to a certain audience. Tancredo, in fact, slowly raised his hand like he didn't know what he should do. The next day, however (presumably after consulting with the experts in his campaign), he had a one sentence statement to resolve the matter and make him look like he's got a foot in both camps (I forget what it is).
Big, like it or not, religion is important to many Americans, and their vote will be influenced by such matters, the same way they're influenced by many other things that you might find irrelevant (e.g., JFK supposedly had the handsome factor working for him in 1960; if you were a white Southerner in 1968 you voted for George Wallace, because he represented the pre-civil rights South).
I'm reminded of my mother telling me a few years ago about a car she bought--describing the person she had bought it from as a "Christian man"--her way of saying he was someone to be trusted. GW Bush has played on this very thing, slipping words like "faith" and others of the evangelical lexicon into his speeches--designed to tell every one he is a "Christian" and a man to be trusted. Actually Jimmy Carter was the first one in recent times, to use his faith as a campaign tool. Before then, churchgoers were known to stay away from polls. After Carter won, the Republicans got wise as to what happened, and they've been actively courting the church vote ever since.
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo.
I suspect Brownback (he is from Kansas afterall) was honest in his hand raise. I think the other two were pandering to a base in order to gain credibility in already dead campaigns.
Hey Spider and others indifferent to religion 
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