Religion In 2012 Election: Labels Matter Less

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/religion-in-2012-election-labels-matter-less_n_1855982.html

USA Today | By Bob Smietana
Posted: 09/05/2012 9:08 am Updated: 09/05/2012 9:08 am


This combination of 2012 and 2011 file photos shows Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at the University of Chicago on Monday, March 19, 2012, left, and President Barack Obama in Osawatomie, Kan. on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. Obama and Romney each use a distinct vocabulary - a campaign glossary of sorts - to define himself, criticize the other guy, and highlight opposing economic philosophies: Fair shot or economic freedom? The nation's welfare or class warfare?


(RNS) There aren't any white Protestants on the presidential ballot this year -- a first in American history.

Instead, the race features two Catholic candidates for vice president, and a Mormon Republican and African-American mainline Protestant for president.

Perhaps lucky for all of them, voters care more about issues such as social justice or gay marriage than they do about denominational brands.

That's particularly true for Republican Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan, who hope to woo evangelical voters that share their values rather than their theology.

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