From the New York Times:
Voters say they want the next president to have strong religious convictions regardless of whether or not they share the same set of beliefs. But just how far candidates should go in talking about those beliefs is unclear. In a CBS News poll taken at the end of June, half of all those polled said it was appropriate for candidates to talk about their religion and half said it was not appropriate.
White voters who describe themselves as evangelical Christians were the group most likely to want to hear candidates talk about their beliefs. Seventy-five percent of them said it was appropriate, 24 percent said it was not. A majority of Catholics, 57 percent, said it was not appropriate for candidates to discuss their religion as did 57 percent of Democrats and 51 percent of Independents.
“The public wants some God talk because they are trying to judge people’s character,” said Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University. “This is one of the ways for candidates to convey their core values and what motivates them,” he said.
I really am eager to hear Rudy, McCain & Fred Thompson talk more about their faith. With folks pointing out the difficulty of Romney’s faith, that Rudy is not an observant or even valid Catholic, that Thompson is not a Christian – well it is a fascinating set of GOP candidates.
It would seem more important to me that the historical records of all candidates would be of more concern; i. e. how did they vote on critical issues? It is sad to me that some if not all of the major candidates are scrambling to assure everyone who listens that they are all good God-fearing people.