Oh, how I long for the day when a candidate is able to respond...

to a question about his or her faith with "My religious beliefs are personal and have nothing to do with government, so I decline to answer that."

I would quit everything I was doing to campaign for that person, maybe even if he/she was non-scary Republican.

I am so sad that Kaine's religion apparently won him the governership (according to stories posted here). Now I'm going to have to listen to our candidates profess their devotion to God, and 'Bless" America and talk about "good Christian values".

Really, really makes me angry.

Think anyone will ever really talk about separation of Church and State as part of his/her platform?

C. J. Cregg of West Wing fame was asked if she were a lesbian. Her answer - "Its none of your damn business."

The separation of church and state is the number one issue facing America today. The religious right is the number one domestic enemy of our constitution today. Let me bore you with my sig line.

"i have never made a secret of my personal beliefs, and no doubt a number of articles will be written about that in the years to come. but right now, i need to address a more urgent and fundamental issue, which concerns the corruption of both politics and religion by the cynical attempts of some to merge the two vital american institutions.

"those who claim to inject faith into politics, those who seek government funds for religious use, those who paint themselves under a religious halo -- have neither the interests of religion, nor the interest of government, nor the interests of the people, nor the interests of god at heart. instead, they seek to prey on the trust americans place in god and coopt it for themselves, while bypassing the tough process of actually earning it.

"in doing so, they cheapen god, they destroy the cherished independence of the church, they set our society up for painfully divisive conflict, and they distract us from the pressing common challenges that await us.

"in order not to cater to ill-conceived attempt to destroy religion in america, i respectfully decline to answer your question at this time.

it still belies a belief in God (He must exist if He can be cheapened). Even that, for me, is too much information. I want Jews indistinguishable from Atheists who you can't tell apart from Evangelicals.

i'm an atheist but i acknowledge that there's a concept of god that other people believe in. i am merely noting that if religion is muddled with government, than that god concept that other people believe in itself becomes muddier.

personally, i won't believe in it either way.

but i admit that the response could be tweaked. hey, not bad for just off the cuff, i think (where's my pats-self-on-back emoticon?)

So you want a guy who won't profess his religious faith. And then there are those who do want him to profess his faith.

What makes you any different?

I find atheists and agnostics can be as narrow-minded, hateful, and vindictive as religious people.

If truth be told, it will be religious values that may bring some folks to our camp. Religion tells us there is a consequence for our actions and we should behave according to whatever we worship. The behavior is ALWAYS tied to doing good works...feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, working for social justice.

Do you think Martin Luther King wasn't motivated by religion? You bet yer ass he was and I say way to go to that. He was able to articulate that devout Christianity wasn't about hatred and intolerance, but about peace and justice.

Personally, I don't really care what the leaders religion is or even if he has one. I just want someone who will run the country in a certain way.

Their side thinks religion carries their flag...they will continue to use it to paint us as heathens, devils, communists....if one of our (Dem) leaders is a deeply religious person then I am fine with that, because it'd probably mean he'd think twice before sending armies off to slaughter the innocents...it would make him think twice before cutting aid to the impovershed...it would make him think twice before destroying more of our environment...Of course, he could be non-religious and still believe those things...JUST BECAUSE.

I said no such thing. Nor did I say I believe. I just don't want religion to enter into politics. Do I care if a candidate who would govern in a way I find acceptable is a deeply regious person or an agnostic? Nope. My point is I DON'T WANT TO KNOW. Nor do I think we should know.

And I believe that it is a bit naive to ignore the sizeable number of Americans who profess to live good, Christian lives, but do not give a rat's ass about hungry, homeless people if they're gay, foreign, pro-choice or liberal (to name but a few). For all the positives that religion brings, some of the worst atrocities in humankind have been perpetrated in the name of one God or another.

I'm tired of the power religion wields in this country and tired of people relying on it, instead of on good ideas, to win elections.

"Religion tells us there is a consequence for our actions and we should behave according to whatever we worship."

Yes, and I'm f***ing sick of political figures behaving according to whatever it is they worship. Christianity has given us Falwell, Robertson, Dobson, and all sorts of disreputable trash who have ruined the country.

And some people want more of this?

I say, keep your religion to yourself.