It is puzzling to me how politicians are among the first to cry foul when they feel the First Amendment rights of Americans are being infringed upon, yet candidates on both the Left and the Right have been quick to toss around religious rhetoric during these dawning days of the 2008 presidential race.  

Should American voters take pause when virtually every candidate claims Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior?  Is there reason to be slightly disconcerted at the idea of an entire pool of religiously like-minded individuals? 

I don’t believe there is any danger in 16+ people have the same faith; this is America after all, and something like 80% of our population claims to be Christian.  I do, however, believe there is reason to be weary of who these like-minded individuals are; not on a personal level, but on a professional one.  These individuals are professional politicians; most of whom have been in politics longer than I have been alive.  A career in which rhetoric reigns supreme is bound to produce individuals who are willing to say anything in order to succeed.

Beyond my personal cynicism toward politicians, there still remains the fact that religious beliefs are a decidedly private matter.  What John McCain, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee believe about God, Jehovah or Allah matters little to me as a voter, so long as they sincerely demonstrate integrity, courage, intellect, and the like.  

Maybe Jesus’ newly-found popularity is a fad that, like the tide, will ebb and flow.  A person’s beliefs will always be present, but the extent to which said beliefs are made public knowledge seems to vary by (election) season.