Election 2008: John McCain and Church-State Issues

Religious freedom is one of the campaign issues of interest to Buddhists. Where does Republican presidential candidate John McCain stand on separation of church and state?

I was surprised to find there is very little about religion and church-state issues on the McCain campaign web site. This could mean church-state issues are not a high priority for the Senator, or he might think his opinions on religion are better kept to himself. Anything a presidential candidate says about religion does seem to offend somebody.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life quotes a 2007 interview with Senator McCain:

McCain said that "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation," and added that "the lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, 'I only welcome Christians.' We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here, they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles."

For the record: The notion that the United States was founded on Christian principles is cherished by many, but it isn't true. However, we don't know if Senator McCain fervently believes the Christian principles story, or if he said that for the benefit of conservative religious leaders whose endorsement he was seeking.

The About.com Guide to Atheism/Agnosticism, Austin Cline, prepared a report on John McCain's religious values. According to Austin, "John McCain has voted to back the agenda of the Christian Right by supporting the idea that the government should be able to erect religious symbols or endorse officials prayers in public schools." McCain also favors criminalizing abortion and opposes birth control education in public schools, but it's not clear his opinions are founded on his religious beliefs.

Beyond that, McCain legislative record suggests that injecting religious beliefs into public law is not a personal priority of the Senator. However, a McCain administration could be populated by conservatives who are less scrupulous about keeping church and state separate.