Religion was a definite factor in the 2000 and 2004 elections, and seems as though it may be even more important in this one. President George W. Bush was very outspoken on his religious views and faith in God during his election, as was Sen. John Kerry. However, Bush and Kerry are Christian and Catholic respectively.
There has been much discussion of Sen. Barack Obama's religious views over past weeks. He has been linked with Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, and in his book said that he has studied Hinduism, as well as Greek, Norse and African mythology. While to some it would seem useful that Sen. Obama is well versed in many religions, others seem to look down on the senator because of it.
While Obama is a now a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ, his ties to Islam are causing an uproar, especially in the Southern Baptist south. Though both his father and step-father were Muslim, one considered himself an atheist and the other was a lapsed Muslim who followed beliefs of other religions as well. And yet, these ties have lead many southerners to view Obama as a terrorist sympathizer and have looped him into the negative view many Americans have of Muslims.
Gov. Palin's religious views have also been discussed at length, especially considering her strong social conservative views and the pregnancy of her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. Palin was raised under the Pentacostal Church, which, according to Time follows "a strict moral code: no tobacco, no alcohol, no social dancing." This portrayal of Palin's religious background easily explains her social conservatism, however, the preacher of her former church is of the typical, and contraversial, hellfire and brimstone variety.
Palin now attends a nondenominational Baptist church and has not been outspoken on her personal religious beliefs, but I am sure they will surface soon. It will be quite interesting to see how the religious views of the candidates will affect the perceptions of the voters come November.