Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.
(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)
Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Mary Starrett, in an Aug. 11, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
Voters should have confidence that their President acknowledges the sovereignty of God."
Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), in a Dec. 24, 1999 article titled "Some Christmas Thoughts on Religion and Politics" on his US House of Representatives website, stated:
"Of course, advocates of a radically secular society conveniently forget the fact that it is impossible to establish a moral, ethical and effective government without a belief in God. Without some bedrock guiding principles, human behavior is simply shaped entirely by the circumstances of the moment, without clear or lasting concepts of right and wrong, or the order that comes only through such a system. The end result is that human social behavior in the absence of religious belief inevitably becomes less controlled and more harmful to others; which is, come to think of it, what we see happening in the world today." Dec. 24, 1999 Bob Barr
John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated in an article titled "John McCain: Constitution Established a 'Christian Nation'" on the beliefnet website (accessed June 2, 2008):
Q:"Has the candidates' personal faith become too big an issue in the presidential race?
[John McCain]: Questions about that are very legitimate...And it's also appropriate for me at certain points in the conversation to say, look, that's sort of a private matter between me and my Creator...But I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, 'Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?'" June 2, 2008 John McCain
Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), issued the following statement through her Press Secretary, John Judge, in a Nov. 1, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
"Freedom of religious belief is a key principle of this country, however, if religious beliefs are marked by intolerance, extremism, and prejudice they may speak more to the character of the candidate." Nov. 1, 2008 Cynthia McKinney
Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, issued the following statement through his Communications Director and Policy Writer, Loralynne Krobetzky, in an Oct. 20, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), in a June 23, 2007 speech titled "A Politics of Conscience" on his official candidate website, stated:
"...[D]oing the Lord's work is a thread that's run through our politics since the very beginning. And it puts the lie to the notion that the separation of church and state in America means faith should have no role in public life. Imagine Lincoln's Second Inaugural without its reference to 'the judgments of the Lord.' Or King's 'I Have a Dream' speech without its reference to 'all of God's children.' Or President Kennedy's Inaugural without the words, 'here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own.' At each of these junctures, by summoning a higher truth and embracing a universal faith, our leaders inspired ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things." June 23, 2007 Barack Obama
INACTIVE CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear
below in black and white and in alphabetical order by party.)
No position found as of Dec. 19, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Biden campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.
Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a Jan. 19, 2005 article titled "Remarks by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Ten Point National Leadership Foundation" on her US Senate website:
"People often ask me whether I'm a praying person, and I say I was lucky enough to be raised in a praying family...
So faith can provide that bedrock and it is important that we have the right debate in our country. It needs to be one carried out by people who understand what our objectives should be. We want to live together, we want to respect each other's beliefs, and that means respecting the faith of others and enabling people to live out their faith in the public square, and that means also providing services to people, so that we have a diversity of services available." Jan. 19, 2005 Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd, US Senator (D-CT), on Paula Zahn Now on June 4, 2007, stated:
"Zahn: You can't hit any campaign stop today without a politician talking about their faith. Do you feel the pressure to wear your faith on your sleeve?
Dodd: No, I don't. And I think that can be a mistake. If it's not natural, if it isn't something you do regularly, I think you ought to beware. If people sense this is somehow you're using the language because you think it's the political thing to do, it will hurt you, in my view. It has to be natural enough." June 4, 2007 Chris Dodd
John Edwards, former US Senator (D-NC), stated in a Sep. 30, 2004 FOXNews.com (Associated Press) article titled "Edwards: Religion Should Not Divide Voters":
"My faith is very important to me, and the same is true of John Kerry...
The two of us talk about our faith - with each other...Our faith is important to us and it's always been important to us, and people should know that...
I don't think that faith should be used to divide us." Sep. 30, 2004 John Edwards
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, stated in an article titled "Issues: Faith and Politics" on his official candidate website (accessed Nov. 30, 2007):
"My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives.
Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own. It makes us less judgmental, as we see others with the same frailties we have. Faith gives us strength in the face of injustice and motivates us to do our best for 'the least of us.'
Our nation was birthed in a spirit of faith - not a prescriptive one telling us whether to believe, but one acknowledging that a providence pervades our world." Nov. 30, 2007 Mike Huckabee
No position found as of Nov. 28, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Hunter campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.
Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, issued the following statement through his press secretary, Joseph Oddo, in a Nov. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"Yes, we need to defend the documents of democracy that founded our nation based on the Judeo-Christian values that influenced our Founders and set in motion a culture that provides for religious tolerance." Nov. 30, 2007 Daniel Imperato
Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in an Aug. 16, 2003 speech at the Roy Moore Rally held in Montgomery, AL:
"There might be states in which they require a religious test or oath of office. There might be states in which they have established churches, where subventions are given to schools and so forth to teach the Bible. There might be places where you and I might disagree with the religion some folks wanted to put in place over their communities. But guess what the Founders believed? They believed that people in their states and localities had the right to live under institutions they would put together to govern themselves according to their faith." Aug. 16, 2003 Alan Keyes
Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Nov. 9, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"Only tangentially. What's important is that a candidate be able to justify his policy proposals on grounds other than his religious beliefs. 'Separation of Church and State' does not dictate that politicians must have no religious convictions. It merely dictates that their political proposals be based on sound public policy grounds rather than on the highly debatable claim that 'God says so.' As you've probably noticed, most people seem to hear God saying whatever it is that they wanted him (or her, or them!) to say. In America, our framework of governance is dictated by the Constitution, not the Bible, the Q'uran or the Tao Te Ching. As president, I would be sworn to accept that framework, to offer policy proposals that fit within that framework, and to justify those proposals to my fellow Americans based on objective facts, not on my religious beliefs. And I would rigorously adhere to that oath." Nov. 9, 2007Steve Kubby
Dennis Kucinich, US Representative (D-OH), stated in a question and answer segment titled "Is America Unofficially a Theorcracy?" on the 10questions.com website (accessed Jan. 3, 2008):
"In the United States Constitution, Article 6, it says 'No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.'
The founders understood that it was very dangerous to have any religion try to determine who the President of the United States should be and have any consesus of a religious nature that would help to form public opinion in such a way that the President would not be sympathetic to those of another faith or of no faith at all." Jan. 3, 2008 Dennis Kucinich
Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Nov. 13, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated:
"No, a candidate should be judged on his ideas and perceived ability to get the job done and nothing else. A candidate's religion or race shouldn't matter when it comes time to vote in any election." Nov. 13, 2007 Frank McEnulty
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), stated in a Dec. 30, 2003 article titled "The War on Religion" on LewRockwell.com:
"Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the elitist, secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion must be driven from public view. The justification is always that someone, somewhere, might possibly be offended or feel uncomfortable living in the midst of a largely Christian society, so all must yield to the fragile sensibilities of the few. The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally and culturally biased against Christianity.
The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders' political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs. Certainly the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God, would be aghast at the federal government's hostility to religion. The establishment clause of the First Amendment was simply intended to forbid the creation of an official state church like the Church of England, not to drive religion out of public life." Dec. 30, 2003 Ron Paul
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in the Aug. 19, 2007 Democratic Presidential Debate in Des Moines, IA:
"I pray. I'm a Roman Catholic. My sense of social justice, I believe, comes from being a Roman Catholic. But, in my judgment, prayer is personal. And how I pray and how any American prays, for what reason, is their own decision. And it should be respected. And so, in my view, I think it's important that we have faith, that we have values, but if I'm president, I'm not going to wear my religion on my sleeve and impose it on anybody." Aug. 19, 2007 Bill Richardson
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in a Dec. 6, 2007 speech titled "Romney's 'Faith in America' Address," at the George Bush Presidential Library:
"A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.
Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin. Dec. 6, 2007
Christine Smith, a Libertarian candidate and a social and political activist, stated in a Dec. 5, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"Qualification to your question: This is not a policy question you are asking, but a personal opinion question: Thus, whether other voters should care or not is not something I can comment on- that is up them as to what they consider a priority when choosing who to vote for, and I cannot at all presume to say whether or not other voters should consider a candidate's religion. I can only answer as to whether it matters to me. I answer 'No' only for myself, because when I consider candidates I do not care about their religion, I care about their ability to uphold the US Constitution, to be a leader who has integrity. Other citizens may find one's religion of significance, but I do not." Dec. 5, 2007 Christine Smith
Tom Tancredo, US Representative (R-CO), stated at the Aug. 5, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate in Des Moines, IA:
"I have no doubt of what the greatest mistake in my life has been. And that is that it took me probably 30 years before I realized that Jesus Christ is my personal savior." Aug. 5, 2007 Tom Tancredo
No position found as of Nov. 29, 2007. ProCon.org also emailed the Thompson campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email or follow up call.