Beliefnet Voter's Guide
Who's getting your vote? Beliefnet's guide to religious positions on the candidates can help you make your choice November 2.
The B-Log: Election Edition
How religion impacted the 2004 election.
By the Editors of Beliefnet
Seven Myths About Faith & Politics
The truth about the politics of evangelicals, Catholics and seculars.
By Steven Waldman
Faith Works?
Strong performance among evangelicals and traditional Catholics in key states propels Bush's victory.
By Steven Waldman and John Green
Star-Crossed Election Gridlock
Who'll be our next president? Our valiant astrologer tries to make sense of a tight race in tense times.
By Shelley L. Ackerman
Election 2004: Even the Astrologers Can't Agree on the Outcome
Astrologers are foreseeing surprises -- even mayhem -- this unpredictable political season.
By Shelley Ackerman
The Astrological Chart of George W. Bush
He has an auspicious birthdate, his Sun is in the 'serve or suffer' house�and he has the curse of Tecumseh to overcome.
By Shelley L. Ackerman
The Astrological Chart of John F. Kerry
Do his planets describe a man at war with himself or a Man for All Seasons?
By Shelley L. Ackerman
The Candidates and their Faith
When Piety Takes Center Stage
For talking about their faiths, the candidates should be praised not pilloried.
By Steven Waldman
Presidential Candidates on Religion
An ongoing record of the Democratic presidential hopefuls' comments on religion and spirituality.
Wesley Clark
Howard Dean
John Edwards
Dick Gephardt
John Kerry
Dennis Kucinich
Joseph Liberman
Carol Moseley Brown
Al Sharpton
The Spiritual Lives of the Candidates: Beliefnet Interviews
Wesley Clark: "I'm Spiritual. I'm Religious. I'm a Good Christian."
Dennis Kucinich: "This Conversation is a Meditation."
George W. Bush: "We Are All Sinners."
Joseph Lieberman: "Thank God I had the Sabbath!"
John Edwards on Faith
Presidential candidate John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, on his personal faith, faith and politics, prayer, and more.
Howard Dean "Finds" Jesus
Dean rushes in where political angels have feared to tread.
By Cal Thomas
Memo to Gephardt
Word to the wise presidential candidate: throw some Yiddish into your trade policy speeches. A parody adapted from The Washington Monthly
By Tucker Carter
George W. Bush:
If Bush Isn't Curious, It's Not God's Fault
The idea that faith makes Bush close-minded is anti-religion. But it also lets Bush off the hook.
By Steven Waldman
An Evolving Faith
Does the president believe he has a divine mandate?
By Deborah Caldwell
George W. Bush on Faith
An ongoing collection of quotes from Bush about faith, his relationship with God, religion & politics, gay marriage, and more.
John Kerry:
The Religification of John Kerry
How the candidate found his soul.
By Steven Waldman
Not a Prodigal Son
Kerry has a different language, a different connection to ritual, and a different relationship to Jesus than that of Bush.
By Deborah Caldwell
John Kerry on Faith
An ongoing collection of quotes from Kerry about faith, his relationship with God, religion & politics, and more.
Why Should Catholics Vote Democrat?
We stand for progress, diversity, and social justice, say party head.
By Joe Andrew, Democratic National Committee Chair
Catholic Politicians Can't Have It Both Ways
Bishops must crack down on legislators who call themselves Catholic but whose votes are grossly contrary to church teaching.
By Tom Bethell
Not Just Any Catholic
If John Kerry becomes the Democratic nominee, how will his liberal views on social issues sit with the Catholic Church?
By Tom Bethell
Not Just Any Catholic
If John Kerry becomes the Democratic nominee, how will his liberal views on social issues sit with the Catholic Church?
By Tom Bethell
Why Catholics Should Vote Republican
The GOP's values are closest to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
By Tom Bethell
Just Another Politically Homeless Catholic
I don't agree with all church teachings, but my Catholic faith informs my views on war, abortion, and poverty. So how do I vote?
By Therese Borchard
Bush's Catholic Courtship Strategy
'If we lose any of the Catholic vote we�ll lose the election,' says a Bush campaign adviser.
By Deborah Caldwell
The Man Behind the GOP's Catholic Strategy
A Catholic inside-baseball story turns huge. Why? Because it involves the presidential election.
By Deborah Caldwell
In The American Catholic Tradition Of Realism
Mario Cuomo speaks about the experience of elected officials who try to reconcile personal religious conviction with a pluralist constituency.
By Mario Cuomo
Party Lines
Research challenges bold GOP boast: Catholic social teaching lines up more with Democratic Party
William V. D'Antonio and Jacqueline Scherer
The Moral Urgency of Electing John Kerry
His life embodies the proud Catholic justice tradition of putting the common interest before personal gain.
By the Rev. James Forbes
Vote for the Party, Not the Man
'Independents' are suckers for slick candidate packaging, while party platforms reflect genuine interests.
By Andrew Greeley
Give Kerry Communion--for Now
If Kerry makes the mistake of asking for communion, the Church should say yes.
By Charlotte Hays
Claiming the Catholic Vote
Republicans say their agenda best reflects Catholic teaching. At least one bishop says Catholics aren't that easy to classify.
By Patricia Lefevere
"I Am a Believing and Practicing Catholic"
Senator John Kerry on his faith
By John Kerry
Is God a Republican?
Roman Catholicism and the Republican Party are strange bedfellows.
By Frances Kissling
Why Vote for a Republican?
Freedom, faith, and family, says the party leader, are three good reasons.
By Jim Nicholson, Republican National Committee Chair
FAQ: John Kerry and Catholic Communion
Understanding Catholic Communion--and why bishops are worried about America's first Catholic, pro-choice candidate.
By Laura Sheahen
By Their Fruits
How to be a Catholic president in the 21st century.
By Steven Waldman
Please, Don't Throw Me Into the Friar Patch
Is it possible that the attacks by conservative Bishops are helping Kerry?
By Steven Waldman
A Big Catholic Shift to Kerry?
Two new polls show a sudden movement of undecided Catholics toward Kerry. A backlash against the Bishops?
By Steven Waldman
Christianity Has Left the Public Square
American public religion is now a servant of the social order that sets the real priority: material comfort.
By Kenneth Briggs
David Barton & the 'Myth' of Church-State Separation
The Bush campaign has hired a controversial activist who calls the U.S. a 'Christian nation.'
By Deborah Caldwell
'I Believe in an America Where the Separation of Church and State is Absolute'
September 12, 1960, address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
By John F. Kennedy
A Place for Politics in the Pulpit
Clergy should be our guides to understanding personal and public life--the spiritual, the ethical, and yes, the political.
By David Klinghoffer
Pastor Politics
Churches endorsing candidates? It could happen, if a 50-year-old tax regulation is overturned.
By Michael Kress
The Case for Imposing Religious Views on Others
Politicians can embrace the idea that there's nothing wrong with legislating morality.
By Steven Waldman
Christianity Makes George Bush A Better President
He is human and fallible. He is also, very clearly, a follower of Christ.
By David Aikman
What Conservatives Really Wanted
Evangelicals weren't looking for a Christian president. What they really wanted was someone to fight Communism.
By Deborah Caldwell
Did God Intervene?
Evangelicals are crediting God with securing re-election victory for George W. Bush.
By Deborah Caldwell
A Small Town's 'Spiritual Battle' to Get Bush Reelected
In Ephrata, Pennsylvania, a grassroots effort is underway by to get Bush votes.
By Deborah Caldwell
Swing State Evangelicals
Evangelicals in the North and Midwest will still vote for Bush--but they are not going to behave like happy Texas Baptists.
By Deborah Caldwell
Fleecing the Flock
President Bush and his re-election campaign may have finally found the limits of evangelical good will.
By Jim Evans
The Real Reasons Evangelicals Love Bush
Persecution. Transformation. Calling. Clarity.
By Steven Waldman
Heaven Sent?
The President's supporters have repeatedly implied that God was partly responsible for Bush's election.
By Steven Waldman
The Beliefnet God-O-Meter
Beliefnet's scientific measure of how faith-oriented the presidential candidates are in their speeches.
Are the Democrats Anti-Religion?
How the media's reporting on the Religious Right keeps it from seeing the story of the Secular Left.
By Rod Dreher
Breakthrough for Non-believers?
Some non-believers hail Ron Reagan Jr.'s speech at the Democratic convention as a political milestone for secularists.
By Gustav Niebuhr
Do the Democrats Have a Prayer?
Democrats could gain political traction by playing the religion game. Failure to talk about faith will hurt them in 2004.
By Amy Sullivan
The 'God Gulf' Myth
Religious beliefs of the two major parites are more similar than they seem.
By Steve Waldman and John Green
Presidential Pilgrim's Progress?
Why Kerry is shying away from religion--but shouldn't be.
By Steven Waldman
The Party of Unbelievers
A new survey shows that the religion gap is bigger and of more consequence than we think.
By Claudia Winkler
Why Bush Won
Moral values, anti-gay marriage initatives, and more black support united a new coalition of religious voters.
By David Domke
My Big Fat 'Single Issue' Vote
A Christianity Today editorial is muddying the waters for pro-life voters.
By James Kushiner
White House Word Play
Does Bush's ambiguous phrasing reflect a growing acceptance of gay unions?
By Steven Waldman
John Kerry's Abortion Ban
The campaign confirms that Kerry supports a measure that could ban thousands of abortions.
By Steven Waldman
What Do They Really Believe on Abortion?
Bush and Kerry aren't telling their full positions on this crucial moral issue.
By Steven Waldman
Religion, Values & Politics Statistics Library
A collection of facts and figures about Americans' views of the role of religion in politics.
The Religio-Political Landscape of the Battleground States
Interactive map of the political and religious makeup of the most-contested states.
2004 Election Exit Poll Results
Early indications of how the faithful voted in the presidential election.
Exit Polls: Comparative Charts
How did the votes of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews in 2004 compare to 2000?
The 'God Gulf': The Numbers
Data from the 2000 presidential election about religion and political affiliation.
Who Did Religious People Vote for in 2000?
Exit poll results from 2000 revealed Bush received 55% of the Protestant vote, while Gore beat Bush among Catholics.
Steven Waldman 2004 Convention Blog
Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steven Waldman writes daily dispatches from the 2004 political conventions.
"From Beyond the Stars"
The Silent Scream of the Platform
Faith-Based Unilateralism
Missing Mary Cheney
Egan's Rebuttal
Ann Coulter, Overheard
Woodrow W. Bush
Cross on Podium?
Mean Buttons
Righteous Buttons
Zell's Faith
Cheney on Evil
Who Really Set Bush On the Right Path?
Secular GOP?
Deny Arnold?
Giuliani Thanks God
Born Again Vs. Once-Born
George W. Bush: Compassionate War President
The publisher of The Weekly Standard explores the moral and Biblical roots of Bush's foreign and domestic policies.
By Terry Eastland
The GOP Is Not a Church
Why convention organizers are right to give moderate & liberal voices prime-time exposure.
By Rev. Jerry Falwell
G.O.P. Gets Down with GOD
The Republicans say they had no trouble getting top acts at their convention. So why do they have so many Christians?
By Matthew Paul Turner
When Prayer Warriors and Corporate Warriors Unite
Working for McCain in 2000, I witnessed the union of Bush's religious right and corporate allies. Now I'm voting for Kerry.
By Marshall Wittmann
'All of Us See Through the Glass Darkly'
Bill Clinton explores politics & religious values in a sermon at Riverside Church before the start of the Republican convention.
By Bill Clinton
'Why Would The Anti-Christ Write Chorus Line?'
Is Bush as religious as he claims? These, and other questions addressed by liberal comedian-activist Al Franken
The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus
By Al Franken
Illustrations by Don Simpson
Vote GOP to Be Saved?
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I'm a Democrat.
By Jerry King
Faith Without Works?
After four years, the president's faith-based policies have proven to be neither compassionate nor conservative.
By Amy Sullivan
The Path of Righteousness
African-American voters are surprisingly conservative�and very religious.
By Steven Waldman
From Theological Tenet to Political Password
Three of the Democratic candidates have already pitched to their audiences some version of the "City on a Hill" speech.
by Kimberly Winston
