Barack Obama

Barack was not raised in a religious household.  His mother was raised by non-practicing Christians while his father was raised a Muslim, but later converted to atheism.  Obama says of his religious background in his book, The Audacity of Hope:

“I was not raised in a religious household. For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the garb of piety, cruelty and oppression in the cloak of righteousness. However, in her mind, a working knowledge of the world’s great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology.”

He received education based upon many different religions.  As a child in Jakarta, Indonesia he attended a Muslim school for two years and a Catholic school for two years.  Neither of the two religions stuck with Obama, as he often found himself disagreeing with some of the religious teachings.  In adulthood, Obama identified himself as a Christian, and he continues to today.  He was baptized in the Trinity United Church of Christ.
The United Church of Christ (UCC) emphasizes the freedom of the individual conscience.  It is considered a Mainline Protestant Christian denomination.  What this means is that it is far more liberal and “left winged” then most other evangelical churches.  The church is comprised of moderate to liberal theologies.  For example, the UCC is increasingly open to the ordination of women (which allows women to become bishops, priests, and deacons), and they are also the largest church to support equal marriage rights for all, which would allow gay marriage (although some of their churches do not agree with this).  Followers of the religion tend to be more open to changes in society.   They believe that God exists in three “persons” (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and also believe that the Bible is God’s word; however, they are open to new interpretations and understandings.  Surveys conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research show that the churches, much like the teachings, are split between conservative and liberal/progressive followers.

(Barak Obama declares himself as a Protestant Christian.)

(Back ground information for this article can be found here at About.com.)

(Wikipedia link to the Trinity United Church of Christ.)

(Washington Post article on the new Pastor at Barack Obama’s church.)

(Official website for Trinity United Churh of Christ.)

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Joe Biden

Born to Irish-Catholic parents, Biden briefly considered becoming a priest when he was a young student. Biden attended Holy Rosary parochial school andArchmere Academy, a Catholic prep school in Claymont, Del. His interest in politics was sparked as early as 10th grade by the civil rights movement and the presidency of John F. Kennedy; “I remember being so proud that he was Catholic,” he told The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., in 2005.

In 1972, shortly after being elected to the Senate at age 29, Biden lost his wife and one-year-old daughter in a car crash in which his two sons were also injured; he later remarried and had another daughter. He was given last rites by a priest in 1988 before recovering from a life-threatening aneurysm and brain surgery; he described his recovery as “a second chance in life.”

Biden attends Mass at St. Patrick’s Church or St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church, both parishes in the Diocese of Wilmington; he recommended St. Patrick’s former priest, the Rev. James Trainor, to serve as a guest chaplain in the Senate in 2001. Biden had an hour-long private audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1980 on the subject of Poland’s position in the former Communist bloc. Biden met Pope John Paul II three more times. He attended the pope’s 2005 funeral and told The News Journal that the presence of religious leaders from other traditions made the event “much more meaningful.”

When former Diocese of Wilmington bishop Michael Saltarelli came under pressure in 2005 to deny Communion to Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, Saltarelli refused to do so, saying through a diocesan spokesman that he preferred “prayer and active engagement” on the issue. Biden declined to comment.
Biden did say this in August 2005, “I’m very proud to be Catholic. It’s part of my spirituality, part of my identity. When John Kennedy ran for president, I remember being so proud that he was Catholic. But he had to prove that he wasn’t ruled by his beliefs. I’m with John Kennedy on the role religion ought to play in politics.”

(Joe Biden delcares himself as a Roman Catholic.)

(Religious background information on Joe Biden found on PewForum.org.)

(Joe Biden’s Wikipedia bio states that Joe Biden and his family regularly attend services at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware.

Sarah Palin

Palin was baptized a Roman Catholic as an infant. When Palin was a teenager, she and her mother began attending Wasilla Assembly of God, a church affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a pentecostaldenomination that claims more than 52 million adherents worldwide. According to Kaylene Johnson, the author of Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down, Palin asked to be re-baptized and was immersed in Beaver Lake in a ceremony that included her mother.

A point guard on the varsity basketball team, Palin led a Wasilla High School chapter of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Palin’s biographer recounts a story about how Palin, then a junior, followed up on a close loss at the state basketball tournament. The morning after the game, when the coaches didn’t see any of the players at breakfast, they wondered whether the team had stayed up partying. But later they discovered Palin and her teammates returning from a church service, Bibles in hand. The next season, Palin made the free throw that won the Wasilla Warriors an Alaska state championship.

Wasilla Assembly of God’s website says Palin attended the church until 2002. Media reportshave connected Palin with several churches since then, including Juneau Christian Center, which has a pentecostal history; The Church on the Rock, a nondenominational, evangelical congregation; and Wasilla Bible Church, a nondenominational, evangelical church where the Palins’ baby, Trig, was recently part of a dedication ceremony in which parents ask for a congregation’s help to raise their child as a Christian.

A spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign has said Palin attends different churches and does not consider herself a pentecostal. Shortly before her surprise selection as McCain’s running mate, Time magazine asked Palin what her religion is. Palin responded, “Christian.” When asked if she was any particular type of Christian, she answered, “No. Bible-believing Christian.”

Sarah Palin stated the following in October 2008 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcast Network, “Nobody is going to convince me that my foundation of faith is not good for me and for my family no matter the mocking, no matter what anybody says about it, I’m going to keep plugging away at this and I’m going to keep seeking God’s guidance and His wisdom and His favor and His grace, for me, for my family, for this campaign, for our nation.”

(Sarah Palin declares herself as a Non-denominational Christian.)

(Religious background information on Sarah Palin found on PewForum.org.)

(Sarah Palin’s Wikipedia bio states that the Palin family home church is Wasilla Bible Church.)

(Wasilla Bible Church Wikipedia entry.)