AUG. 23, 2004

ELECTIONS
Local stories illuminate religion/politics tangle

Religion is being scrutinized as a possible determining factor in this year's tight presidential race. Experts cite at least four reasons:
• Religious involvement has been shown to be a factor in candidate preference.
• Many religious groups have been actively lobbying their members to vote Nov. 2.
• The candidates' campaigns have been aggressively wooing people of faith whom they consider likely supporters. Both campaigns have had religious advisers resign under pressure.
• Several "swing states" include large numbers of people of particular faiths. No candidate has won the popular presidential vote without winning the Catholic vote since 1972, for example.

Beyond national polls and predictions lie illuminating local stories about how Americans are engaging their faith in ways that could affect public policy for years to come. Tip O'Neill once said, "All politics is local." The same can be said of religion in 2004.

In any city or region of America, reporters will find congregations that share the same affiliation - be they Catholic, Methodist, Jewish or Muslim - but whose leadership engage in political issues in vastly different ways, if at all, and whose members have different political leanings. Exploring how local congregations, clergy and people of faith are supporting issues and encouraging political involvement may be the best way to show why religion has become a potent factor in elections 2004.

Why it Matters
With the pool of undecided voters shrinking, the two major-party candidates are battling fiercely for a limited number of votes, and most of the campaign's major issues are laced with religion.

Questions for reporters
• Are congregations sponsoring voter registration drives inside or outside their institution?
• What differences can be found among congregations of the same faith in the same city in terms of political activity?
• What issues are of importance to different congregations?
• How are politicians reaching out to such diverse congregations in their efforts to get votes?
• Are local congregations working in concert with any national religious or social organizations as they engage in political activity? Are voter guides a factor?
• Politicians have gradually realized that religions do not produce monolithic voting blocs and that a religion's teachings are not the only factors that can politicize a congregation. This year's mix of hot-button social, economic and military issues has left some people of faith in a quandary because they say no candidate reflects their views on all issues. For example, Muslims often back conservative stances on social issues, but many say they are more concerned about civil liberties. Some African-Americans side with the Bush Administration's position on same-sex marriage and faith-based initiatives but find themselves at odds with the White House on economic policies and civil rights. Some conservative Christians who voted for Bush in 2000 find themselves in areas hit hard by the economy. What do local people of faith say about how they choose among candidates?

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Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

CONSERVATIVE AND TRADITIONAL GROUPS
• Colin A. Hanna is the president of the new conservative nonprofit group Let Freedom Ring Inc., which promotes, among other things, traditional values, religious liberty and what it calls the sanctity of life. Contact spokesman Jerry McGlothlin, 610-793-1800.
• Randy Brinson is head of Redeem the Vote. The group, an answer to Rock the Vote, aims to increase voter registration and voter turnout by young Christians across the nation. Contact 888-852-8683.
• Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility is conducted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The project's aim, as detailed in the bishops' statement, is to educate Catholics about how their faith should be reflected in their political decisions. Contact Sherri Watkins, 202-541-3000.
• Richard Cizik is vice president for government affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals, which includes 43,000 congregations from 50 member denominations, individual congregations from 27 other denominations and 250 para-church ministries and educational institutions. In June, the group released the document "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility." The document calls on evangelical Christians to engage in political activity and encourages them to cooperate with non-Christians to make societal changes that benefit all. Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@nae.net.
• Richard Land, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has said that if he were a pastor, he would be uncomfortable pushing the Bush-Cheney initiative to find support from "friendly congregations." He says he favors presenting information from all the candidates and telling church members to vote their conscience. Contact Kerry Bural at 615-782-8419, kbural@erlc.com.
• James C. Dobson is founder, former president and chairman of the board for the conservative group Focus on the Family. The group has organized iVoteValues.org, which encourages Christians to vote. Contact Christopher Norfleet, 719-548-4570, culturalissues@family.org.
• Gary Cass is executive director of the Center for Reclaiming America, a conservative Christian organization that focuses on what it calls "five key fronts of the modern-day culture war: (1) Religious Liberties, (2) the Sanctity of Life, (3) the Homosexual Agenda, (4) Pornography, and (5) Promoting Creationism." The group sponsors christianvotes.com and millionvotes.com to mobilize conservative Christian voters. Contact 877-725-8872, cfra@coralridge.org.
• Jay Sekulow is co-chairman of Americans of Faith, a group that encourages evangelical Christians and religious conservatives to participate in the political process. The group sponsors Operation: Vote. Sekulow also is chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. Contact 757-226-2489, info@americansoffaith.org.

MODERATE AND LIBERAL GROUPS
• The Rev. Bob Edgar is general secretary of the National Council of Churches, which opposes allowing places of worship to endorse candidates. The group also aims to register 2 million poor voters with its Let Justice Roll campaign. Contact 212-870-2025, redgar@ncccusa.org.
• The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy is executive director of the Interfaith Alliance, based in Washington, D.C. Gaddy has criticized the Bush-Cheney campaign's efforts to rally conservative churches. The group sponsors Vote 2004 to educate voters on issues and candidates. It also works to prevent what it calls the "inappropriate exploitation of faith in the political process." Contact media relations at 202-639-6370, press@interfaithalliance.org.
• Albert Pennybacker is head of Clergy Network for National Leadership Change, an interfaith group made up of 1,200 self-described liberal, moderate and progressive clergy and religious leaders. The group is strongly critical of the Bush administration and states that it "will do whatever is appropriate within existing legal processes and restraints to achieve national leadership change." Contact 859-455-9762, ampennybacker@clnnlc.org.
• Ralph G. Neas is president of People For the American Way Foundation, which tries to counter conservative religious influence on politics. Contact Priscilla Ring, 202-467-4999, media@pfaw.org.
• The Rev. Barry Lynn is executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which opposes church political activity. Contact Joe Conn, 202-466-3234, conn@au.org.
• Clayton Childers is program director of Annual Conference Relations for the United Methodist Church's General Board of Church and Society. The group's social justice agency sponsors Faithful Democracy, made up of moderate to liberal religious organizations that promote civic participation. Contact 202-488-5642, cchilders@umc-gbcs.org.
• Anne Nicol Gaylor is a founder and president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group that works to keep church and state separate. Contact Annie Laurie Gaylor, 608-256-5800, fttoday@mailbag.com.

JEWISH
• Rabbi David Saperstein is director and counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, based in Washington, D.C. The group educates and mobilizes the American Jewish community on legislative and social issues. Contact Alexis Rice at 202-387-2800, arice@rac.org.
• Nathan J. Diament is director of the Institute for Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation's largest orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, in Washington, D.C. He can discuss the relationship between Orthodox Judaism and politics. Contact 202-513-6494.
• Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an Orthodox rabbi, heads Toward Tradition, a national coalition of Jews and evangelical and conservative Christians that promotes traditional values. He also serves on the board of the Jewish Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Contact 206-236-3046.

MUSLIM
• Sidique Wai is president of the United African Congress, based in New York City. He ran for the New York City Council in 2001 and can comment on Muslim involvement in American politics. Contact 212-685-2848.
• Khaled Saffuri is chairman of the Islamic Free Market Institute, which facilitates grassroots Muslim political movements. The institute has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-955-7174, ksaffuri@aol.com.
• Dr. Agha Saeed is president of the American Muslim Alliance, which works to increase American Muslims’ participation in public affairs and politics, including voter registration and education. Contact 510-252-9858.

Background

For more background and sources on religion and politics, see these ReligionLink tips:

• A June 14, 2004, tip on politics in the pulpit. • A May 5, 2004, tip on presidential politics and the evangelical movement. • A Feb. 18, 2004, tip on Kerry, Catholicism and the White House. • A Feb. 2, 2004, tip on the religious divide between political parties. • A Jan. 5, 2004, tip on religion and the 2004 election.

• Read a January 2004 Zogby poll report that includes information on how religion is a dividing factor between "red" and "blue" states.
• Read two articles that call the "God gap" between political parties a myth: A Beliefnet.com article by Steven Waldman and John Green and a USA TODAY editorial column by Conservative rabbi Gerald L. Zelizer.
• View a transcript from a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life event called "The Body Politic and The Body of Christ: Candidates, Communion and the Catholic Church," which discussed the role Roman Catholics may play in this election.
• "Religion and the 2004 Election" appeared in the fall 2003 issue of the journal Religion in the News, a publication from Trinity College's Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life. The special section looks at the effect of religion on politics from a variety of faith, race and ethnic viewpoints.
• Read an Aug. 9, 2004, New York Times article (registration required) on the Bush-Cheney campaign's efforts to recruit conservative Christian churches to turn out the vote this fall.