| In Pennsylvania, churches back single payer
COMMENTARY
Morton Mintz relays comments by the director of Public Advocacy of the Pennyslvania Council of Churches holding that health care ”is very much an issue for the faith community.” (First of Two Articles)

Foreigners scratch their heads | Original sin and American politics
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Professor of religious studies Ira Chernus examines the Foley scandal, hypocrisy, and how being a lowly sinner can be a winning strategy.

Also: In defense of Helen Thomas | Bush's fundamentalism seen as a decisive, negative factor in his policies
COMMENTARY
Former White House reporter Saul Friedman says that, for the first time in modern American history, a president’s religion is determining policies, and the press should do a better job reporting it.

Where do we look? | Is there a religious left in the U.S. today?
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Much has been made of the religious right ever since Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1980, but little has been said about the religious left. Is there any semblance of a religious left in the United States today that could counterbalance the religious right?

28% of the population | Just how monolithic are American Evangelicals?
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Evangelical Protestants were widely credited for George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004, and one of their own, former Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, was assumed to be a cultural conservative almost entirely on the basis of her religious affiliation. Political scientist Laura Olson asks an important political question: To what extent are evangelicals a political monolith?

Religion and politics | How about looking at the Democrats' 'secular' problem?
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A poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life says that only 29 percent of Americans believe the Democratic Party is 'friendly toward religion.' As Laura Olson notes, that's a good starting point for reporters.

A tradional, observant Catholic | How relevant is religion in the John Roberts confirmation process?
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Religion is playing an increasingly important and relevant role in American politics. What role will it play, if any, in the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice nominee John Roberts?

'Welcome to Doomsday' | Understanding religious fervor is a key to reporting politics
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Bill Moyers writes in a New York Review essay on political religion: 'The delusional…has come in from the fringe to influence the seats of power.'

Understanding America | Fundamentalists 51, enlightenment 48
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Maybe the election wasn't about terrorism, Iraq or the economy at all…at least not for many of those on the winning side.