Because Democrats have been perceived in recent elections as less religious than Republicans, they're cautious about saying anything that would bolster that notion, said Ken Wald, a political science professor at the University of Florida.
"Criticizing an evangelical leader can often be viewed as criticizing evangelicals generally," he said.
An issue for JFK
When John F. Kennedy's faith became an issue in the 1960 presidential election, he went out of his way to emphasize that his Catholicism would not influence his policy decisions.
By contrast, in this election, any number of candidates have stressed that religion is not just something they do in the privacy of their home or place of worship but also is something that supplies the values that would help guide them as president, said Jelen, the UNLV professor.
"The thing is, Obama brought it up: 'My faith provides a basis and is important to what kind of president I'm going to be.' He invited the scrutiny," Jelen said.
rona.marech@baltsun.com
