The Pew Forum writes that just as coverage of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s fiery former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, opened a window into life inside some black churches, Palin’s candidacy is introducing many Americans to the conservative theology of Pentecostalism.
The conservative Alliance Defense Fund is organizing pastors to directly endorse political candidates by name from the pulpits on September 28. The want to provoke the IRS into investigating them so they can sue the agency. Their goal is to remove the ban on direct political activity in churches.
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Prior to becoming governor in 2006, her pastor was David Pepper of the Church on the Rock in Palin’s hometown of Wasilla — a church that “was kind of a foundation for her.” Pepper, it should be noted, is outspoken on slavery, racism, and the massacres of Native Americans, all of which he terms “sins” that still cast a long shadow on minority communities.
From Harper’s: During the 2008 campaign the beliefs of various candidates’ spiritual mentors has attracted a great deal of attention, especially those of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and to a lesser extent those of John Hagee … So now seems an opportune time to examine the viewpoints of Sarah Palin’s two most recent pastors, as expressed in their sermons.
We agree with Senator Obama’s assertion that candidates’ minor children should be off limits in political debate. However, as parents, we wonder at the judgment of the two adults who put a 17-year-old child in the position to have her premarital pregnancy become front page news across the nation.
Panelists at the Washington Post’s On Faith section were asked to advise the two presidential candidates on the role that religion should play in their campaigns. Bishop John Bryson Chane of Washington is among those who responded.
Religious conservatives are excited by Senator John McCain’s choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, says Ralph Reed in The New York
Faith expression will have a high profile at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, with an emphasis on diversity and unity.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has released a survey that says that some Americans are tiring of their pastors bringing electoral politics to their pulpits.