KIM LAWTON: In the heart of Texas Bush country, kids at the Central Dallas Ministries day camp are getting a civics lesson about voting. The goal is to encourage their parents and their neighbors to register to vote. It's part of a project to help low-income people get their voices heard.The Reverend Larry James is executive director of the faith-based ministry. The voting project is nonpartisan, but James is a lifelong Democrat -- a Democrat who is frustrated with how his party is handling religion right now.
Reverend LARRY JAMES (Central Dallas Ministries): The Republican Party has carried away the issue of faith, and the popular notion is that Democrats are not people of faith.
LAWTON: Analysts say this election season Democratic leaders have struggled over how to deal with religion.
Dr. SHAUN CASEY (Professor of Christian Ethics, Wesley Theological Seminary): On the one hand, they read the polls. They understand the demographics of the country, which would lead one to say that religion is extremely important in this current election. They see the need, but on the other hand, they lack the experience, they lack the confidence, frankly, to reach out to those communities with great ease.LAWTON: According to recent surveys, the more often voters attend religious services, the more likely they are to vote Republican. The majority of Americans say they like expressions of faith from their politicians. Forty-one percent believe there haven't been enough such expressions. This poses some big political challenges for Democrats.
MIKE MCCURRY (Public Strategies Group): Many Democrats are not accustomed to speaking of their faith and relating their faith to political action. This is something that's just not part, hasn't been part of the culture of the party. So it's a new vocabulary for many Democrats, and I think that's what we're getting used to.
Representative ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): We shouldn't shy away from that. We should say it because it reflects who we are and what we are about, and people should know that.LAWTON: Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro is a Roman Catholic who chaired the Democratic Platform Committee. She says Democrats need to more actively communicate what motivates their policies.
Rep. DELAURO: There is a nexus between religion and politics. We do have a separation of church and state. No one is talking about going over those bounds. In my view, Republicans use politics to push religion. I don't believe we ought to emulate that. But what we ought to do is reflect our values in the work that we do. And we ought to say it. We ought to say it.
LAWTON: President Bill Clinton's former press secretary, Mike McCurry, is an active United Methodist. He's also among the few high-profile Democrats urging the party to pay more attention to religion. He admits this is not always a welcome message.
Mr. MCCURRY: I think it's met with discomfort by some party leaders. I think some people are just not comfortable wearing their religion on the sleeve. And particularly, if you are imbued with certain Yankee taciturnity, like a certain candidate we have running for president, it's not a natural thing to talk about a faith life, even though in the case of Senator Kerry, he happens to be a particularly faithful person.LAWTON: Religion has been tricky for Kerry and his campaign, as evidenced by the highly publicized flap over whether he should receive Communion in Catholic churches because of his stand in favor of abortion rights. The candidate himself is reluctant to make connections between faith and politics, as he acknowledged in a December interview with the Interfaith Alliance.
Senator JOHN KERRY (Speaking to Interfaith Alliance): Affairs of state are affairs of state, and they ought to be based on the discussion we have day to day about how we fund education or how big the military ought to be. And affairs of faith are affairs of faith. And they're separated.
LAWTON: But many grassroots Democrats believe the two areas should be more connected. In Dallas, Larry James has dedicated his life to helping the poor. His Central Dallas Ministries has a multipronged approach that includes a massive food bank as well as medical, legal, and housing assistance. James says all the projects are directly motivated by religious beliefs.
Rev. JAMES: And if I were John Kerry or John Edwards, I think I'd get with some astute theologians and I'd hammer out some of these, because I think that resonates with Christians and with Jewish folk and with Muslims as well, to say nothing of Buddhists and Hindus and others, because these values are in all the holy texts.
JOANNA CITRON DAY (Democratic Activist): Religion really doesn't have a place in American politics, and I think that it's not about, you know, what your religious background is. Really, it's public service to all Americans, regardless of their religion. So why should your religion as a candidate or as president play into it?
Many Democrats were hoping John Edwards would bring the ticket more comfort in dealing with religion. Edwards is a United Methodist who has been active in the National Prayer Breakfast. So far, on the stump he's been talking a lot about values, but not explicitly tying those values to religion.
