Photo: Associated Press

Background

Sarah Palin Background

Hometown
Wasilla, Alaska

Age
45

Religion
Attends several evangelical Christian churches in Alaska.

Education

University of Idaho, B.S., 1987

CandidateWebsite
www.johnmccain.com/about/governorpalin.htm

CandidacyStatus
Named John McCain's vice presidential running mate on Aug. 29, 2008.John McCain conceded to Barack Obama on Nov. 4, 2008.

Political Experience

Governor of Alaska, 2006-present
Chairwoman, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 2003-2004
Mayor, Wasilla, Alaska, 1996-2002
City Council, Wasilla, Alaska, 1992-1996

Professional Experience

Commercial fishing company co-owner, 1988-2007
Outdoor recreational equipment company owner, 1994-1997
Television sports reporter, 1987-1989

Family Information

Spouse: Todd Palin
Children: Track Palin, Bristol Palin, Willow Palin, Piper Palin, Trig Palin

Must Reads

Oct. 24, 2008
YouTube Videos Draw Attention to Palin's Faith
The New York Times

Oct. 22, 2008
Palin tells Dobson election outcome is 'in God's hands'
The Associated Press

Oct. 11, 2008
As governor, Palin at times bonds church and state
The Associated Press

Oct. 9, 2008
Analysis: Does Sarah Palin Have a Pentecostal Problem?
Time

Sept. 29, 2008
Experts: Palin's religion misunderstood
Politico

Sept. 28, 2008
Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy
Los Angeles Times

Sept. 16, 2008
Is Palin new face of Religious Right, or old?
Reuters

Sept. 12, 2008
Opinion: Faith-Based Condescension
The Washington Post

Sept. 9. 2008
Alaska town forged Republican "northern light"
Reuters

Sept. 7, 2008
Are Evangelicals Really Sold on Palin?
Time

Sept. 4, 2008
Palin's Faith Is Seen In Church Upbringing
The Wall Street Journal

Sept. 4, 2008
Pentecostalism obscured in Palin biography
The Associated Press

Sept. 4, 2008
Focus Turns to Palin Record
The Wall Street Journal

Sept. 2, 2008
Evangelical Voters Energized by McCain VP Pick
Charisma

Aug. 30, 2008
Analysis: McCain's VP choice a woman - and a post-denominationalist
National Catholic Reporter

Aug. 29, 2008
Evangelicals pleasantly surprised with McCain's VP choice
Religion News Service

Aug. 29, 2008
McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate
The New York Times

July 16, 2007
The Most Popular Governor
The Weekly Standard

Oct. 23, 2006
'Fresh face' launched Palin
Anchorage Daily News

Aug. 6, 2006
Same-sex unions, drugs get little play in Alaska governor's race
Anchorage Daily News

Religious Biography

Palin Religious Biography

In Her Own Words

"Nobody is going to convince me that my foundation of faith is not good for me and for my family no matter the mocking, no matter what anybody says about it, I'm going to keep plugging away at this and I'm going to keep seeking God's guidance and His wisdom and His favor and His grace, for me, for my family, for this campaign, for our nation."
Interview, Oct. 2008

Palin was baptized a Roman Catholic as an infant. When Palin was a teenager, she and her mother began attending Wasilla Assembly of God, a church affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a pentecostal denomination that claims more than 52 million adherents worldwide. According to Kaylene Johnson, the author of Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down, Palin asked to be re-baptized and was immersed in Beaver Lake in a ceremony that included her mother.

A point guard on the varsity basketball team, Palin led a Wasilla High School chapter of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Palin's biographer recounts a story about how Palin, then a junior, followed up on a close loss at the state basketball tournament. The morning after the game, when the coaches didn't see any of the players at breakfast, they wondered whether the team had stayed up partying. But later they discovered Palin and her teammates returning from a church service, Bibles in hand. The next season, Palin made the free throw that won the Wasilla Warriors an Alaska state championship.

Following Palin's vice-presidential nomination, Wasilla Assembly of God's website said Palin attended the church until 2002. Media reports connected Palin with several churches since 2002, including Juneau Christian Center, which has a pentecostal history; The Church on the Rock, a nondenominational, evangelical congregation; and Wasilla Bible Church, a nondenominational, evangelical church where the Palins' youngest child, Trig, was part of a dedication ceremony in which parents ask for a congregation's help to raise their child as a Christian.

At one point during the 2008 general election campaign, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin ticket told the Associated Press that Palin had attended different churches and did not consider herself a pentecostal. Shortly before her surprise selection as John McCain's running mate, Time magazine asked Palin what her religion was. Palin responded, "Christian." When asked if she was any particular type of Christian, she answered, "No. Bible-believing Christian."

On the Issues

Palin On the Issues

Abortion

Palin opposes abortion in all cases, except to save the life of the mother. She says that Roe v. Wade should be reversed and that "states should be able to decide that issue." During an October 2008 campaign interview she said, "I've always had near and dear to my heart the mission of protecting the sanctity of life and being pro-life or a hard-core pro-lifer." She said that when she found out early in her pregnancy that her youngest son would be born with Down syndrome, it scared her but also provided an opportunity to live what she believed. She has also said, "Alaskans know I am pro-life and have never wavered in my belief in the sanctity of every human life."

Compare McCain and Obama

Church and State

In response to a question about religious leaders endorsing political candidates, Palin said, "Faith is very important to so many of us here in America, and I would never support any government effort to stifle our freedom of religion or freedom of expression or freedom of speech." During her 2006 campaign for Alaska governor, Palin said her interpretation of the Bible would not "bleed over into policy."

Compare McCain and Obama

Death Penalty

Palin supports capital punishment. During her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, she was asked whether she would introduce legislation – or support a bill introduced by a legislator – to adopt the death penalty in Alaska, and if so, to which crimes it should apply. She responded, "If the legislature were to pass a bill that established a death penalty on adults who murder children, I would sign it."

Compare McCain and Obama

Education

In a 2006 debate during her gubernatorial campaign, Palin said she favored schools teaching both evolution and creationism but that she would not push Alaska's state board of education to add such alternatives to school curricula, saying, "I won't have religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism." She has not pushed the issue while in office.

Compare McCain and Obama

Environment

Palin supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as offshore drilling, to help America reach energy independence. In her 2007 state of the state address she said that "to sustain our future, we must look to ramp up responsible resource development." She was instrumental in securing a license for a natural gas pipeline that will run from Alaska's northern Prudhoe Bay to Canada. In a June 2008 speech at her former church in Wasilla, Palin said, "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that." In August 2008 Palin said she did not attribute global warming to man-made causes, but in a September 2008 interview she said she believes "man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change."

Compare McCain and Obama

Faith-Based Initiatives

As governor of Alaska, Palin increased the role and authority of the Alaska Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which had been set up by the previous governor. Palin's proposed 2007 budget caused some controversy by eliminating $1.5 million in social service grants for three Alaska communities and instead giving a similar amount to the state Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. That proposal was ultimately dropped.

Compare McCain and Obama

Gay Marriage

In the 2008 vice presidential debate, Palin said she is "tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners," but added, "I don't support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman." In a subsequent interview, she signaled that she would support a federal constitutional amendment, similar to the one in Alaska, banning same-sex marriage. As Alaska's governor, Palin issued her first veto in December 2007 on a law that would have denied health benefits to same-sex partners of state employees, stating she had been advised that the bill was unconstitutional. Also in December 2007, Palin signed a bill calling for a nonbinding advisory vote on the issue of benefits for same-sex partners and said she supported a constitutional amendment to deny the benefits if the advisory vote showed the public wanted such action. Before she was governor, Palin supported a successful 1998 Alaska state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Compare McCain and Obama

Health Care

Palin favors more competition in Alaska's health care sector. In her 2008 state of the state address, Palin argued for doing away with a program that limits the creation of new medical facilities and criticized the program as "broken and expensive." In the same speech, Palin supported a youth health education program to combat alcoholism, suicide and child abuse but emphasized personal choices in health care, saying that "government cannot cure all ills."

Compare McCain and Obama

Immigration

Palin's position on immigration is unknown at this time.

Compare McCain and Obama

Iraq War

In a March 2007 interview with Alaska Business Monthly, Palin, whose oldest son deployed to Iraq in September, said, "while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan." In a June 2008 speech at her former church in Wasilla, Palin requested that attendees "pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Compare McCain and Obama

Poverty

In 2007, Palin introduced legislation to continue the Alaska SeniorCare Program, which provided support for low-income senior citizens in Alaska. "I'm pleased to present a plan that continues this important assistance to Alaska seniors, and helps keep pace with cost-of-living changes," she said. The bill failed to pass at the end of the legislative session, but the Alaska legislature held a special session and voted to expand aid to seniors. To strengthen the economy, Palin supports reducing small-business and property taxes.

Compare McCain and Obama

Stem Cell Research

Palin opposes embryonic stem cell research and said in a September 2008 interview that "we should not create human life, create an embryo and then destroy it for research, if there are other options out there."

Compare McCain and Obama

Public Opinion

Nov. 5, 2008
Vote here How the Faithful Voted
Among nearly every religious group, Barack Obama received equal or higher levels of support compared with John Kerry. Still, a sizeable gap persists between Obama's support among white evangelical Protestants and his support among the religiously unaffiliated. Similarly, a sizeable gap exists between those who attend religious services regularly and those who attend less often.

Nov. 2, 2008
Trends in Presidential Candidate Preferences Among Religious Groups
Charts tracking Pew Research Center surveys show trends in support of Barack Obama and John McCain by white evangelicals, black Protestants and other religious groups throughout the campaign. View the graphic

Oct. 27, 2008
McCain Retains Support of Highly Religious White Voters
A Gallup update based on more than 21,000 interviews conducted as part of Gallup Poll Daily tracking in October shows that registered voters' religious intensity continues to be a powerful predictor of their presidential vote choice.
Read the report at gallup.com

Oct. 22, 2008
How Church Attendance Affects Religious Voting Patterns
The latest report from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows that, as in previous elections, differences in voting patterns by religion are amplified when church attendance is taken into account.
View the graphic

Oct. 21, 2008
Growing Doubts About McCain's Judgment, Age and Campaign Conduct
Barack Obama's lead over John McCain has steadily increased since mid-September, when the race was essentially even.
Read the report at people-press.org

Oct. 21, 2008
Hispanic Voters Divided by Religion
Taken as a group, Hispanic voters solidly support Barack Obama over John McCain for president, but there is a significant difference in the Hispanic vote by religion.
Read the report at gallup.com

Sept. 5, 2008
Religion Remains Major Dividing Factor Among White Voters
John McCain's lead over Barack Obama among highly religious white voters, currently 65% to 26%, has been quite stable all summer and has not yet changed with the selection of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.
Read the report at gallup.com

Sept. 3, 2008
Religious Profile: Alaska
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is a self-described "Bible-believing Christian," but statistics from the Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey show that Alaskans are, by several measures, less religious than the overall U.S. population.
Read the report

Aug. 21, 2008
More Americans Question Religion's Role in Politics
Some Americans are having a change of heart about mixing religion and politics. A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters.
Read the report

Aug. 13, 2008
White Evangelicals Help McCain Close Gap
With fewer than two weeks to go before the start of the presidential nominating conventions, McCain has solidified his support among Republicans and white evangelicals, especially in the South, while Obama lags in attracting Clinton supporters.
Read the report

July 17, 2008
McCain's Lead Among Evangelicals Smaller than Bush's in '04
John McCain has a smaller lead among white evangelical Protestants than George W. Bush had at a similar point in the 2004 campaign, even though Barack Obama has made few inroads into this key constituency. Religiously unaffiliated voters, however, strongly favor the Democratic candidate.
Read the report

July 15, 2008
Belief Obama Is Muslim Is Durable, Bipartisan
The inaccurate belief that Barack Obama is Muslim appears to have virtually no effect on Republican voters. But Democrats who share the misperception are significantly less likely to support him, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Read the report

July 10, 2008
Likely Rise In Voter Turnout Bodes Well For Democrats
Even with a partisan enthusiasm gap, voter interest is already as high as in November of recent elections, two trends that may significantly alter the composition of the eventual electorate in the Democrats' favor.
Read the report

July 8, 2008
Religious Intensity Predicts Support for McCain
Americans who say religion is an important part of their daily lives support John McCain over Barack Obama for president, 50% to 40%, while their less religious counterparts support Obama over McCain, 55% to 36%.
Read the report at gallup.com

March 27, 2008
Obama Weathers the Wright Storm, Clinton Faces Credibility Problem
Obama's personal image remains more favorable than Clinton's - and he retains a 10-point advantage over her in the race for the nomination. But certain beliefs and attitudes among older, white, working-class Democrats are associated with his lower levels of support among this group.
Read the report

March 6, 2008
'Purple' states turn a little more 'blue'
The national polls point to a tight presidential race in November. But Democrats have a bit more to cheer about than Republicans do, regardless of who wins the Democratic primary, according to the latest state-by-state electoral-vote projections.
Read the report

Feb. 28, 2008
Obama Has The Lead, But Potential Problems Too
Barack Obama is riding high as the March 4 primaries approach. Obama has moved out to a broad-based advantage over Hillary Clinton in the national Democratic primary contest and holds a 50%-43% lead over John McCain in a general election matchup.
Read the report

Feb. 3, 2008
McCain's Support Soars, Democratic Race Tightens
Barack Obama and John McCain have made significant gains in support as the field of candidates has narrowed in both parties. John McCain now leads 42%-22% over Mitt Romney among Republican voters nationally.
Read the report

Jan. 16, 2008
In GOP Primaries: Three Victors, Three Constituencies
The Republican nomination contest is being increasingly shaped by ideology and religion as it moves toward the Super Tuesday states on Feb. 5. The Democratic nomination contest is being affected by different dynamics than the GOP race – class, race and gender.
Read the report

Nov. 7, 2007
Religious Groups' Presidential Candidate Preferences
A new analysis of recent surveys show Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as the preferred candidates among key religious groups. Giuliani, though, garners considerably less support from white evangelical Protestants than he does from white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.
Read the report

Sept. 6, 2007
Clinton and Giuliani Seen as Not Highly Religious; Romney's Religion Raises Concerns
A September survey finds that religion is not proving to be a clear-cut positive in the 2008 presidential campaign. The candidates viewed by voters as the least religious among the leading contenders are front-runners Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, while voters still express concern about Mitt Romney's Mormon faith. Read more about the 2008 election and religion.
Read the report

June 18, 2007
Analysis of Candidates' Potential Support among Religious Groups
A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press examines potential support for the Democratic presidential candidates among Democratic and Democratic-leaning members of two religious groups: white Catholics and white mainline Protestants.