nice how this is breaking late saturday night for sunday morning news.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52646-2004Jan3.htmlDean Now Willing to Discuss His Faith
Campaign Changed Him, Candidate Says
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 4, 2004; Page A01
STORM LAKE, Iowa, Jan. 3 -- Howard Dean, after practicing a quiet Christianity throughout his political career, said he is talking more about his faith because the presidential race has awakened him to the importance of religious expression, especially to southerners.
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"The campaign has changed the way I am willing to talk about religion. It has not changed my religious beliefs," Dean reiterated Saturday.
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"I am still learning a lot about faith and the South and how important it is," said Dean, a Congregationalist. The Congregationalist Church is a Christian denomination that preaches a personal relationship with God without a strong hierarchal structure guiding it. Dean was reared an Episcopalian, but left the church 25 years ago in a dispute with a local Vermont church over efforts to build a bike path. Dean's wife is Jewish, as are their two children.
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At a breakfast here Saturday, Dean had an opportunity to discuss his faith when an Iowan asked what sustains the front-runner when his rivals are relentlessly criticizing him. Instead, Dean shared a secular belief in the power of people to change government.
A few minutes later, when discussing corporate greed, Dean promised if elected president to call business leaders from around the country into the White House to stress ethics and responsibility. "Moral tone is a huge deal in the presidency," he told the audience.