Religion And Politics Don’t Mix, Major Religious Groups Tell Presidential Candidates 

By Jaweed Kaleem

After Rick Santorum ignited controversy over the weekend by saying President Barack Obama has a “phony” and “different theology” that’s not “based on the Bible,” and amid ongoing discomfort among some politicians and religious figures over Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, a coalition of major religious organizations is calling on presidential candidates to keep religion out of politics.

On Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Interfaith Alliance released a “statement of principles” on religion in political campaigns that calls on candidates vying for office to feel comfortable explaining their religious conviction to voters but also warn that “there is a point when an emphasis on religion becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religiously diverse society such as ours.”

The call has been endorsed by 14 major Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh organizations, and asks candidates to:

• Attempt to fulfill the promise of America by seeking to serve and be responsive to the full range of constituents, irrespective of their religion.