Less Religious Talk from Candidates Please

Jewish leaders are expressing concerns about the number of presidential candidates who seem to be pandering to religious conservatives by bragging about their religious bona fides:

For Jewish leaders concerned about the growing mingling of sectarian religion and presidential politics, the surging campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is taking some ominous turns.

The Republican Romney, facing polls indicating that only 29 of Americans believe the nation is “ready” for a Mormon president, has been working frantically to reinforce his religious credentials with the conservative Christian leaders who could play a big role in deciding the outcome of key GOP primaries next year.

And those credentials aren’t entirely confined to his positions on the issues so-called “values” voters care about the most.

In a recent conference call with voters in Iowa, he said “my faith includes a fundamental belief that we are all sons and daughters of a loving God,” and added that “I happen to believe that Jesus Christ is my personal savior and the son of God.”

Romney’s urgent quest to prove he is a “genuine” Christian by publicly airing the kind of religious statements once considered personal reflects the growing emphasis on religion in major campaigns and the growing power of a handful of Evangelical leaders who have set themselves up as the religious judges of candidates.

“It’s not just that religion is an important factor for voters; we’re seeing the creation of a de facto religious test for high office,” said Rabbi James Rudin, senior religious adviser for the American Jewish Committee and author of “The Baptizing of America: the Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us.”

They are right to be concerned.

First of all, it ought to be abundantly clear by now that publicly professing one's religious faith has absolutely no bearing on one's fitness for the office of President. Beyond that, whoever is President may be Christian, but when he (or she) is in office, he represents all Americans: Christians, Jews, Buddhists, pagans, and atheists. There once was a time when this idea made American a great place to live. There once was a time when Presidents spoke very little publicly about their religious faith and the country viewed this as a good thing. I long for a return to those days. I don't care what faith the Presidents holds; I just want someone who is competent to do the job. Let's here less talk from the candidates about their religious faith and more talk about what they are going to do to get us out of Iraq and slow the damages of climate change.