LIKE MANY PASTORS, the Rev. Ted Haggard has
a packed schedule, including four worship services on
Sunday, counseling sessions with church members, and
radio commercials promoting the Scriptures. But in his
Palm Pilot, next to an electronic copy of the Bible, Mr.
Haggard has one Monday appointment that stands out: "3
p.m.: White House." It's a weekly conference call Mr.
Haggard dials into that's led by Tim Goeglein, the White
House's liaison to the conservative community, and
includes prominent religious leaders. "We have direct
access," says Mr. Haggard, senior pastor of the giant
New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. "I can call
[Mr. Goeglein], he'll take my concern to the president
and get back to me in 24 hours."
In an unusually tight election year, the
clergy are becoming an increasingly important bridge to
the faithful and the votes they can deliver on Nov. 2.
Sen. John Kerry has hired a director of religious
outreach -- from the evangelical movement -- making him
one of the few Democratic candidates ever to do so. Sen.
Kerry's staff has also been consulting with liberal
clergy like Rabbi David Saperstein of Washington, D.C.,
and New York's the Rev. James Forbes, who are
encouraging the campaign to embrace religion more
publicly. On the Bush side, the Republican National
Committee is mounting a "Catholic Outreach Tour," while
White House strategist Karl Rove has turned to the Rev.
Richard Land, a leading Southern Baptist, for feedback
on the proposed same-sex marriage amendment and
stem-cell research.
Much of the activity is taking place out of
view for strategic reasons: Basically neither candidate
wants to show his hand. At the same time, the religious
leaders want to avoid the appearance of endorsing a
particular candidate. The result is a "stealth campaign"
that's "nearly invisible" to voters, says the Rev. Barry
W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, a group that monitors
religious freedom.
The faith-based push is especially
important at a time when Americans are polarized over
issues that can be intertwined with religious beliefs,
such as gay marriage and the war in Iraq. Traditionally,
people who attend a house of worship once or more a week
vote Republican, while those who seldom or never attend
vote Democrat. In the 2000 exit polls, President Bush
beat Al Gore among regular churchgoers by 20 points (59%
to 39%). The margins for that group can fluctuate, but a
survey released this week shows this "religion gap" back
at the 2000 levels, with Bush ahead of Kerry by 19
points, according to the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press. (The survey has a margin of error of
plus or minus 5%.)
Although politicians look to clergy to help
undecided voters make up their minds, religious leaders
must walk a fine line when it comes to talking about
political issues. It is a violation of federal tax law
for clergy who work for nonprofit religious
organizations to endorse a candidate. But rabbis,
pastors and imams are allowed to discuss their stances
on political issues and to encourage their congregants
to register to vote. And as private citizens, clergy may
make their personal voting preferences known and
contribute to campaigns.
Halfway between the two conventions, and
with the election around the corner, a handful of
religious leaders have emerged as some of the nation's
most politically influential. Some of them head
important congregations, others are rainmakers who are
mounting big get-out-the-vote campaigns. Still others
have a national profile or strategic constituencies in
an all-important swing state. Here they are, in
alphabetical order:
The Rev. James Forbes, Jr.
Senior minister of Riverside Church, New York
When Sen. Kerry mentioned religion in his convention
acceptance speech -- "Faith has given me values and hope
to live by" -- the Rev. James Forbes considered it a
victory. Along with other liberal religious leaders, Dr.
Forbes had been encouraging the Democrats to discuss
religion more often and publicly. "In times of national
crises, everyone welcomes a theologian of sorts," he
says.
Dr. Forbes's connections with the Democrats
are far-ranging. He was asked to speak to the Democratic
National Convention and says he is in touch with both
Leah Daughtry, chief of staff of the Democratic National
Committee (he's known her father for years) and Bill
Lynch, deputy manager for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. A
native of North Carolina like vice-presidential nominee
Sen. John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, Dr. Forbes
also talks with the couple about shared values. (The
Kerry campaign wouldn't comment on its relationship with
any specific clergy for this story.)
In the next few months, Dr. Forbes, a
member of both the American Baptists and the United
Church of Christ, plans to spend half his time traveling
the country on the "National Tour for Prophetic Justice
Principles," preaching about poverty and racism. In
addition, Riverside -- an interdenominational church
built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1927 -- is launching
"Mobilization 2004," a collaboration between 30 houses
of worship to promote issues of importance to the
religious left.
"God is not going to revitalize America by
a Christian crusade," Dr. Forbes says. "It will be by an
interfaith movement."
In addition to his church duties, he is
Editor-in-Chief of the neo-conservative religious
journal, First Things.
Imam Hassan Qazwini
Spiritual leader of Islamic Center of America, Detroit,
Michigan
With the largest Arab American population in the U.S. --
250,000 people, according to the Greenberg Center for
the Study of Religion in Public Life -- the Detroit area
could be one key to winning the battleground state of
Michigan. Imam Hassan Qazwini's mosque is the largest in
the area and possibly even the country, with 6,000
congregants, 70% of whom are of Lebanese descent.
Imam Qazwini says he is nonpartisan in the
election, but has had more interaction with the
Republicans so far during this campaign. President Bush
visited with the imam in Detroit last year after the
start of the Iraq War. This summer, the imam met with a
Bush campaign delegation and said he explained his
concerns over the lack of security in Iraq. Imam Qazwini
has since invited President Bush to speak at his mosque.
(The White House declines to comment on the president's
future travel.) He says he also expects to have a
dialogue with Sen. Kerry's campaign, who just called the
mosque this week.
To help the Muslim vote have maximum
impact, Imam Qazwini is working with a group of about 50
Muslim leaders (not all of them clergy) to recommend a
candidate. He says they haven't yet decided. In 2000, a
similar group supported Mr. Bush, encouraged by comments
he made opposing racial profiling. That year, about 54%
of Arab Muslim voters, who are often socially
conservative, supported Mr. Bush, according to exit
polls at the time. (Mr. Gore drew 16%; Ralph Nader, who
is of Arab descent, got 19%.)
The U.S. Muslim population is estimated at
about 1.5 million, according to NORC, a research group
based out of the University of Chicago1. This year,
Muslims have raised concerns about the war in Iraq,
President Bush's strong support of Israel and the
Patriot Act, which they believe unfairly targets them.
That doesn't necessarily translate into votes for Sen.
Kerry, though, who some Muslim leaders say is seen by
their constituents as weak on civil-liberties issues.
Rabbi David Saperstein
Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform
Judaism
Rabbi Saperstein, a 57-year old attorney who teaches
part-time at Georgetown Law School, has long served as
an informal adviser to Washington politicians such as
Sen. Hillary Clinton and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone.
(He co-officiated at Sen. Wellstone's funeral.)
According to Rabbi Saperstein, the Bush
administration calls him to discuss how the Jewish
community feels about a range of issues, including the
Sudan situation, terrorism and the security of Jewish
buildings. Rabbi Saperstein was one of several clergy
members who met with Colin Powell last month to urge the
administration to more aggressively pursue Middle East
peace.
Meanwhile, he says Mr. Kerry's policy
advisers also call him to discuss the Jewish community's
views and for advice on how to frame their policy on
faith-based initiatives, the Religious Freedom in the
Workplace Act, Israel and civil rights issues.
American Jews, who number six million,
don't tend to vote in a uniform way. Orthodox Jews, for
example, typically vote Republican, while most other
Jews vote Democratic. In 2000, President Bush got 19% of
the Jewish vote, according to exit polls; this time,
experts expect the numbers to be higher because of his
strong support of Israel.
| 1. Note from
Office of the Imam: The statistic on the population of
Muslims in the U.S. is clearly underestimated. According to |
