by D Serge

Created on: September 18, 2008

While I considered this question for some time and originally prepared a response that

would have asserted that self-identifying Christians do not face prejudice in U.S. elections,

I have come to the conclusion that there is indeed a certain amount of prejudice that openly

Christian candidates must overcome (or at least deflect) in order to be successful in the

U.S. political arena. This conclusion is based upon my review of the nature and process of

the political "machine" as it exists within the current socio-political framework of the

United States. Before explaining my position, I would like to offer the observation that the

extent to which a political figure defines themselves as Christian (e.g. Pat Robertson vs.

Bill Clinton) is correlated with the amount of prejudice they will encounter.

Although the majority (as many as 85%*) of Americans define themselves as Christian, the

degree to which they define themselves by their faith is an important factor, and is much

more important than the denomination they hold with (Roman Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran,

etc.). The exceptions to this are those religions that include some Christian doctrine but

operate in a non-traditional fashion (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons); candidates who identify

with these "fringe" examples of Christianity would and do (ask Mitt Romney) encounter much

more prejudice in the political arena than do "mainstream" Christian candidates. An

additional consideration is the question of "evangelicism". One need only sit through a night

of cable news programming to encounter the term "evangelical" used in a derogatory manner.

This term has come to be used almost interchangeably with the term "fundamentalist", which

(given the war on terrorism and the existence of Islamic fundamentalism as a threat, whether

real or manufactured, is not an association that is desirable for any public figure). While

Roman Catholics and "Independent" Protestants (namely Baptists) are the

strongest "evangelical" forces in the U.S., a political (or public) figure in the U.S. can

still belong to one of these groups and not encounter significant prejudice, so long as he or

she does not identify with their faith in a manner that the secular elitists in American

culture object to (JFK, Phil Donahue, and / or Oprah, as opposed to Jerry Falwell, Mel

Gibson, Oliver North). This difference in degree of identification is a key factor in the

regard to the amount of prejudice a "public" Christian will encounter in America.

One might wonder, and rightfully

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