The Candidates on Church & State
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John McCain |
McCain favors keeping the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance; he has voted three times in favor of Senate legislation to affirm the reference. In an interview with Beliefnet in September 2007, McCain said that "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation," and added that "the lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, 'I only welcome Christians.' We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here, they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles." During his 2000 presidential campaign, McCain said the nation was founded on "Judeo-Christian values" but added that "political intolerance by any political party is neither a Judeo-Christian nor an American value." |
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Barack Obama |
Obama says he believes in the importance of the separation of church and state but has said that a "sense of proportion" should guide how it is enforced. He says that the phrase "under God" in the pledge of allegiance and voluntary student prayer groups on school property are two examples where conflict between church and state has been alleged but should be less strictly policed. At an April 2008 candidates' forum on faith and compassion, he described the issue as "a false debate" and challenged Democrats to "get in church, reach out to evangelicals [and] link faith with the work that we do." He says that while both non-religious and religious people have a right to the public square, "those of us of religious faith [have to] translate our language into a universal language that can appeal to everybody." |
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