Many pundits have said that in recent American history the presidential candidate who has made the most references to God went on to win the election. There may be truth to the theory and already many candidates have rushed to highlight their faith for the electorate. President Barack Obama has utilized the “God talk” too for the upcoming battle. Last week he declared God wants to see the jobs bill passed.
Religion first played a notable role in the presidential election of 1800. In a rematch of the John Adams and Thomas Jefferson race , Federalist allies of Adams accused Jefferson of being “a howling atheist and an infidel.” In the 1980 presidential election, the Jimmy Carter campaign asked Ted Kennedy to attack Ronald Reagan as “anti-Catholic.” Kennedy, of course, dismissed the request out of hand.
If you are in Grand Rapids this Thursday, come here many more anecdotes from presidential campaigns and religion at Derby Station. We will discuss some of the presidential elections where faith was a major issue, such as 1960. In that race, America saw the first and only Catholic elected to the presidency. And is there a better place to discuss how prohibition played into anti-Catholic biases than a pub?
I will offer a short lecture, but this is primarily a discussion so come ready to contribute your own thoughts about religion and presidential campaigns. For all the details, here is the Acton event page and there is a Facebook page for this Acton on Tap as well.
