Religion does play a big part of political American life , but in ways completly unfathomable to Europeans , example Good Friday , one of the most important dates in the Christian calender is totally unrecognised here in California ,even though we have big Catholic population ,(private empoyeers are obliged to allow 2hrs without pay for anyone who wants to attend Mass) though I think maybe in Massachussetts it is a State holiday but nowhere else , just a normal day everyone goes to work .
We have one guy running for President , Mitt Romney , hes a Mormon (4th largest religious group in the US) and the media are now starting to stir things up a bit by calling it a 'sect', a couple of hit pieces have called for him to explain the Mormon belief that the original 'garden of eden' was in Illinos , not the middle-east and that Native Americans are one of the lost tribes of Israel !!
Think it was the 2000 election when Al Gore lost to George Bush , and the guy running for vice-president with Gore was a guy called Joe Lieberman , the election was close , but in my opinion Gore would have won easily but for the folks who balked at having a jewish guy only one bullet away from having the top job , the same i think will happen this time if Barrack Obama runs for vice-presidential spot .
I think the political power of the fundamentalists, evilgelicals and re-borns is ovestated ,just a vocal minority who manage to get TV news time, most folks I know just want to get along with each other .
think Bullseyebarb or LYY when the log-on will be able to give more lucid answers
