From the New York Times:<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public wants some God talk because they are trying to judge people\u2019s character,\u201d\u009d said Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University. \u201cThis is one of the ways for candidates to convey their core values and what motivates them,\u201d\u009d he said.<\/p>\n